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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin Named First Star of Historic Week

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin had week for the ages en route to breaking the all-time goals record.

Jon Alfano

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin scores a goal in the 2nd period against the New York Islanders.
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin scores a goal in the 2nd period against the New York Islanders. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Washington Capitals superstar forward Alex Ovechkin completed his pursuit of history the only way he could've, in dramatic fashion.

At this time last week, Ovechkin sat at 890 career goals, five away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. He then had a week to remember, scoring five goals in four games to cement himself as the greatest goal scorer of all time. He tied the record with a two-goal game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, then broke it with a rocket of a wrist shot Sunday against the New York Islanders.

"To be honest with you, when I was tying the record, I still can't believe it,” Ovechkin said after Sunday's game, per NHL.com. “It was so emotional, it was such a great night, but this is something crazy. I'm probably going to need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what it means to be No. 1."

“But I can say I'm very proud. I'm really proud for myself. I'm really proud for my family, for all my teammates that help me to reach that milestone and for all my coaches. It's huge. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable moment and I'm happy."

After that, there was no one else who could've possibly been the NHL's First Star of the Week. This is Ovechkin's 46th time being one of the weekly three stars, and possibly the most meaningful of all of them.

Ovechkin, 39, has been on an absolute heater this season, scoring 42 goals in 61 games in his 20th NHL season. That's with him missing more than a month due to a broken leg as well.

How long Ovechkin continues to play in the NHL is unclear, but one thing is certain: he'll be a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame inductee when his time comes.

Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki and St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas were named the second and third stars of the week, respectively.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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