Everyone in the building wants to witness history. That goes for Alex Ovechkin’s teammates, too. But they can do one better. They can be a part of history. And everyone wants to have their name on the scoresheet next to No. 895, to be the next Marty McSorley and set up the record-setting tally.
“If you have a chance to pass it to him, you want to pass it to him,” Capitals winger Tom Wilson said. “There’s a lot of intelligent players. If there’s a play that’s open, most guys will try and make the right play. But if he’s open or there’s a chance that you can get the puck to him, obviously you’re going to try at this point to set up one of the best goal scorers. Once you get it into his hands, usually good things will happen.”
So yes, Ovechkin’s teammates have been sometimes forcing the puck to him these days. And no, they’re not going to apologize for it. It’s usually a pretty sound strategy, anyway.
“Oh, for sure,” said Strome, who has assisted on 20 of Ovechkin’s 41 goals this season, and a team-high 46 since joining the Capitals in 2022-23. “I think I’ve been doing that for the last three years, to be honest. But yeah, when he’s open, you’re trying to give it to him a little bit more. But at the same time, he’s usually open. He wants the puck in those areas, and it’s our job to get it to him.”
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Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals teammates embrace record chase: ‘You want to pass it to him’