Ovechkin remains riddle for coaches to defend after 18 seasons

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2022-23 regular season by former NHL coaches and assistants who will turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher. Phil Housley and Mark Recchi will take turns providing insight.
In this edition, Housley, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who coached the Buffalo Sabres and was an assistant with the Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes, discusses how coaches approach defending Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who has climbed within one goal of Gordie Howe for second in NHL history with 801.

I never would have imagined when Wayne Gretzky scored his 802nd goal to pass Gordie Howe and break the NHL record in 1994 that someone else would come along and score that many. But now that Alex Ovechkin has hit 800 goals and is on the verge of passing Howe for second, everybody's antenna has gone up that the Washington Capitals forward could break Gretzky's record of 894.
It's unbelievable for me as a former player and coach to see somebody do that in today's game.
NHL coaches have been trying to figure out how to stop Ovechkin for 18 seasons. The approach when you coach against him is you need to know where he is on the ice at all times because he can score from everywhere.
The one thing 5-on-5 is when his centerman gets the puck, you need to be able sense danger and have an awareness of where everybody is because Ovechkin can score goals every which way: batting out of the air, diving.
If you look at the last two goals in the hat trick that he scored against the Chicago Blackhawks to reach 800 last Tuesday, they were from right around the crease. He has a knack of going where he thinks the puck is going to be, whether it's in the paint or on the flank.
Ovechkin tips pucks too, and he doesn't have to be standing still to tip pucks. He can be moving, and he can find a way to get a stick on the puck. It's incredible.
Defending against him, you have to have your head on a swivel. You must have a stick in the shooting lane and try to take passing lanes away to block him from getting puck.
You think you can by physical with him, but he can play any way. If you try to go after him physically, beware of what you wish for.
It's a matter of taking those passing lanes away where Ovechkin is going to get the puck and know where he is on the ice because it doesn't take long for him to get the puck off his stick, and he knows where it's going when he one-times it. His shot is a weapon.
I remember when I was an assistant with the Nashville Predators. Obviously on the power play he's a huge weapon, but he took a shot where Mario Lemieux used to score from, down by the goal line, and it was one-timer and you're like, "What can you do? How are you supposed to cover that?"
Ovechkin has had incredible centermen, especially Nicklas Backstrom, who have been able to find him, but he can score on his own, too.
You look at that one highlight goal that he had against the Phoenix Coyotes in 2006 when he was on his back, and he slid it in. That goal tells it all. Ovechkin just knows how the score.
During pregame meetings with the players, as a coach you would touch on Ovechkin 5-on-5 but show more of the structure of the other team. Ovechkin was a big topic during the penalty kill meeting, though, and those meetings ran a little bit longer because of the personnel they had.
Ovechkin has been among the best power-play guys since he came into the NHL in 2005, and he holds the NHL record of 292 power-play goals. Opponents have tried having a defender shadow Ovechkin to prevent him from getting off his one-timer from the left circle, but the Capitals have found different ways to move him around and get him the puck. Defenseman John Carlson will slide into the left flank position and Ovechkin will come over the top and be the point man so he can get some shots.
Washington's power play is deadly when T.J. Oshie is healthy, and Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov are down low, because that opens all those goals in the slot for Oshie. If you're going to take Ovechkin away on the left side, they'll go 4-on-3 on you on the other side, so it's tough.
Playing against Ovechkin on the power play, the net-front defenseman needs to have a lot of courage because he's the one that is going to have to flex out in that shot lane and eat some bullets blocking his one-timer. Kudos to all those guys that have gone out there and eaten pucks because that takes a lot of courage.
I was fortunate to meet Ovechkin when I went to visit with former Capitals equipment manager Doug Shearer when they were in Minnesota to face the Minnesota Wild in 2006. I had my son Wilson, who was 15 at the time, with me and Ovi walked by. Doug introduced us to him, and I think we sort of connected there as far as getting to know each other.
Then, when I was coaching at the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus while I was an assistant with the Predators, my son hung out with Ovechkin and a couple other players. We talked a lot when I was coaching or we crossed paths, so we sort of have a good relationship.
To score 800 goals in the NHL today is an unbelievable accomplishment. Teams right now are so responsible in their structure. They backpressure the puck so hard. They're very good defensively, so to be able to do it in this era is unbelievable. It takes a special person.
Now that Ovechkin has gotten to 800, he's got motivation for the next two or three years to really think about maybe becoming the all-time leading goal scorer in the history of the NHL. I hope he can stay healthy because I think he has a good chance to do it.