Ovechkin Nets No. 708 to Win it in Overtime

Ovechkin wins it in overtime.

We've used that phrase two dozen times over the years now, and tonight's game-winner in the extra session - giving the Caps a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins - was extra special because it came on the heels of a 10-day layoff for Ovechkin, 10 days away from the ice due to COVID protocol.
The Caps captain showed up for morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Saturday morning, taking to the ice for the first time since the night of Jan. 19 in Pittsburgh. Twenty-eight seconds into overtime at Capital One Arena on Saturday night, he took it to the Bruins, rifling a rocket of a shot past Boston netminder Tuukka Rask to win a wild and weird game for the Capitals, their third straight victory and their ninth straight game with a point (6-0-3) to start the season.
Once the puck was on his stick and he was over the Boston line, there seemed to be no doubt that he was going to shoot.
"Overall I knew [I was going to shoot]," says Ovechkin. "I didn't want to make a move over there. I just tried to throw it on net, and hope it goes in. And it did."
Ovechkin's 24th career overtime goal was also the 708th goal of his NHL career, tying him with Hockey Hall of Famer and ex-Caps great Mike Gartner for seventh place on the NHL's all-time list.
"I talked to him this morning," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, referring to Ovechkin. "And when we were talking, I said, 'If you go, I'm going to want to keep it under 15 minutes.' I didn't check the final, but I wanted to keep it under 15 just to get him in there.
"He hasn't skated in 10 days. He's been trying to get a workout at his house, but it's not the same as being on the ice. It's certainly not the same as the competition that you have to play out there against a team like Boston.
"As soon as the overtime started, we thought he might be fresh, so we put him out there and he delivered."
Ovechkin skated 14:24 in his return to action, with those last 28 seconds being critical in hindsight.
Boston outplayed the Caps for a good bit of the night, but the Bruins had to rally back from a 3-0 deficit to pick up a point and force overtime, tying the game in the final minute of regulation.
"I thought we were the better team to be honest with you, if you look at the overall game," says Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
"At the end of the day, we battled back so I'm looking at it as a positive."
Aside from the scoreboard result at the end of the frame, the first frame didn't go at all the way Washington would have wanted. The Caps didn't spend nearly as much time in the offensive zone as in recent games, largely because they often weren't able to get through the neutral zone cleanly.
It was a swift period with only a dozen draws taken, and the two sides played 7:28 worth of whistle-free hockey at one point. Caps goalie Vitek Vanecek was sharp once again, stopping all 19 shots he faced in the first and punching pucks out of harm's way so as not to create rebound woes.
Late in the period, Caps center Nicklas Backstrom executed a swipe and snipe to put the Caps on top first. Boston's Patrice Bergeron couldn't quite corral the puck at the Bruins' line, so Backstrom grabbed it, skated to the slot and beat Rask with a high wrist shot at 18:06 of the first. Boston held a dominant 29-12 advantage in 5-on-5 shot attempts in the opening period.
Washington was better in the second, though still not at the top of its game. But the Caps were able to expand their lead early in the middle period, doing so on one of their infrequent - on this night - clean exits and forays through neutral ice.
Jakub Vrana and Backstrom carried through neutral and into Boston ice, and the latter patiently pulled up at the left half wall before pushing the puck to Brenden Dillon at the left point. Dillon went across to partner Trevor van Riemsdyk, whose shot through traffic found purchase behind Rask at 5:22, doubling the D.C. lead.
"I had a chance earlier in the first to shoot it, and I didn't," relates van Riemsdyk. "I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't. From there on out, I just kind of had a shot first mentality. Tom [Wilson provided the traffic] and the goalie couldn't see anything, so I was lucky it went in."
Near the midpoint of the second, the Caps iced the puck. At the time, they had three players on the ice who had been out for more than a minute. Boston won the ensuing offensive-zone draw, but David Krejci unwisely hooked Nic Dowd - one of those three tired players - letting the Caps off the hook and onto the power play, so to speak.
Washington made the most of the opportunity, going up 3-0 at 10:03 when Richard Panik scored five seconds after Michael Sgarbossa beat Bergeron on a draw in the Boston end. Wilson's shot from the slot hit Panik en route to the net.
The Bruins got one of those goals back late in the frame on a power play of their own. With Garnet Hathaway off for interference and five forwards on the ice for the Bruins, Boston won a right dot draw back to Krecji. He walked it to the middle and let a shot fly through traffic. From just above the paint, Nick Ritchie deflected it home to make it a 3-1 game at 17:32.
In the first half of the final frame, Boston drew within a goal when it made the Caps pay for an icing call. Cassidy sent the Bergeron line out to take the draw against Sgarbossa, and this time the Bruins captain won it to Charlie McAvoy, who carried behind the cage before issuing a feed to the front for Brad Marchand. Marchand chipped a shot to the shelf to make it 3-2 just six seconds after the draw.
With Rask pulled for an extra attacker, Boston put together possession shift in the Caps' end, and McAvoy tied it on a goalmouth scramble at 19:02.
Seconds later, Rask had to make a brilliant stop to deny a Carl Hagelin bid from the slot, preserving the point for his team.
That set the stage for Ovechkin, who scored on Washington's first possession with Backstrom and Carlson supplying the helpers after a brief neutral zone regroup. Lack of possession has been a problem for the Caps in overtime this season, but not on this night.
"Face-off win is very important, especially when you play 3-on-3," says Ovechkin. "We handled the puck, we made a good decision with it and we get a goal."
Backstrom also had a night for himself, winning that face-off to start overtime and picking up three points (one goal, two assists).
"He's a game-changer," says Backstrom of his longtime teammate, "and I think we all saw that in the overtime there. Situations like that, he just loves to step up. It was great to have him back."