Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin has accomplished about everything possible in his NHL career but winning a Stanley Cup.
That failure, if it can be called that, has dogged him in recent seasons.
“You don’t define Alex Ovechkin because of a Cup or no Cup because he’s inspired a lot of players to play the game,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz told reporters. “He’s going to be a Hall of Famer, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s done unbelievable things in his time in the League, and too many people try to define what he’s really done in the game. He saved the game, him and Sid probably, out of the (2004-05) lockout. He’s done so many things.”
And now Ovechkin wants to win a NHL title and complete his career. His Capitals face the upstart Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final starting Monday in Las Vegas.
“Every time when the season starts you have a goal, right? To reach the playoffs,” Ovechkin told reporters after the Eastern Conference Final. “You reach the playoffs, and then the next step is to win the Cup. This organization, it’s been too long to be in this position, and I’ve never been in this position.”
CAPITALS STARS SHINE IN PLAYOFFS
Washington’s top players have excelled in this NHL postseason. Ovechkin has scored 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 19 games, making him the second-leading scorer in these playoffs behind teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov (11 goals, 13 assists, 24 points).
But the Capitals have also played fast and physical up and down the lineup, just as the expansion Golden Knights have.
“I think our group here really understands what it means to be a team and how to win,” goaltender Braden Holtby told reporters. “Maybe in the past we’ve had more skill or been better on paper or whatever. But this team, everyone knows their role and everyone wants to pitch in and everyone is comfortable with each other.
“I haven’t been on a team like this where, in any situation, we’re confident and confident in each other, don’t get down on each other. It’s a strong group, and that’s extremely hard to come by and something that we’re going need to have going forward to be our best and be a strong team.”
FORMER PENGUINS SHOW KNIGHTS THE WAY
Vegas played on three Stanley Cup winners in Pittsburgh. He is 12-3 in the playoffs with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage. Those ratios, if they hold up in the Final, would set NHL records.
“I just want to win,” Fleury told reporters. “We’re so close. I want to win. I want to be a part of this team winning the Cup. That’s all that matters to me.”
Fleury and another Penguins veteran, winger James Neal, have drawn on their postseason experiences to lead their expansion team on its unprecedented run.
“A whole life of working for this opportunity, you just try to take advantage of it,” Neal told reporters. “I’ve been there before. Having some experience from the [Final] and being really close, just want to win it that much more.”
The Golden Knights were able to outwork some teams in the regular season, but the playoffs a whole different challenge. Opponents have matched their desperation — and they expect the Capitals to come hard.
“They bought in,” Neal said. “They’re playing as a team. They’re willing to do anything to win. They’re physical. They can score goals. They have skill. We played a very similar team in Winnipeg. That being said, we’re going to have to be hard on their top guys.”
Ovechkin will have to battle for that Cup he so desperately covets.
“We’re going (to Vegas) to play hockey, not to pool party and play in casino,” Ovechkin told reporters. “We’re going there to play hockey and do our thing, and then we’re going to have all the summer and whatever we want to do, we can do it.”
