Ovechkin and the rebuilding Capitals lost that game 5-4 and didn’t win much in his first two seasons. But they qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his third season and have failed to qualify only twice since then (2014, 2023).

Although Ovechkin didn’t speak English well when he arrived from Russia, it was clear to his teammates he was all-in with the Capitals from the start, and not only because he scored two goals in his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

At the beginning of his first training camp, Ovechkin went around the locker room trying to learn each player’s name, writing them down and repeating them in English, sometimes not well. It became a team-building exercise with Ovechkin and his new teammates sharing some laughs while getting to know one another.

“There were some, I can’t remember the names but, we’d call them ‘Ovi-isms’ because he would make up some words,” former Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig said. “The thing was he was trying.”

Ovechkin leaned on his first center Dainius Zubrus, a Lithuanian he’d played with for Russia at 2004 World Cup of Hockey, as his translator, but he didn’t room with Zubrus until his second season.

“His rookie year, he wanted to stay with somebody that was English-speaking,” Zubrus said. “Brian Willsie was his roomie, so he could learn more English and he’d able to get into the team and understand things.”

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis recalled Ovechkin showing up early for a fan event following the 2004 draft in Raleigh, North Carolina, standing at the door and shaking each person’s hand as they arrived, welcoming them while they welcomed him, and sharing some fruit.

“I get emails all the time from long-term fans saying, ‘Hey, I remember when we ate a slice of a cantaloupe together,’” Leonsis said. “He ate like eight cantaloupes. He’d never had cantaloupe before.”

Leonsis tells another story of then-Washington general manager George McPhee dropping Ovechkin off at his house in McLean, Virginia shortly after that draft and Ovechkin spending the day with his family.

“He didn’t speak much English,” Leonsis said. “I went into the pool with him, and we were talking, and I told him, ‘We’re in this together and we’re going to win a Stanley Cup, and you can be one of the greatest players ever. My goal is to treat you like you’re a part of the family, and this is going to be a great experience for the two of us.’”

Ovechkin remembers the conversation with Leonsis in the pool that day, too. He took the words to heart.

“His dream was to win the Stanely Cup, and it was my dream too,” Ovechkin said. “It took us a long time to do that, but we built great chemistry, we built a great relationship and finally we did it.”

There was some heartache along the way, but Ovechkin and the Capitals finally broke through in 2018 and won the Cup for the first time. Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs, which he led with 15 goals in 24 games.

The Capitals did not hold back while celebrating around Washington, including washing away the years of disappointment with a swim in a Georgetown fountain.

“Winning a Stanley Cup is big for him too,” former Capitals forward Mike Knuble said. “I think that was a big feather in his cap. You don’t want to be that guy that hadn’t won the major, like in golf. He won the major.”

* * *

“It’s just mind-blowing”

Ovechkin’s shot has been one of the most powerful weapons in the NHL for two decades. It still is, as evidenced by his 27 shots of 90 miles per hour or higher this season, according to NHL EDGE stats, which ranks second in the League among forwards.

It’s baffled and sometimes overpowered the NHL-record 182 different goalies who Ovechkin has scored against and helped him win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the League’s leading goal-scorer a record nine times.

“He shoots fast. It comes quick. It comes heavy,” said the Minnesota Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury, who has allowed the most goals to Ovechkin (28) and faced him more than any other goalie (47 games). “I feel like he can shoot, it doesn’t matter what kind of pass is given to him, if it’s behind, in front, back foot, front foot, you know? It hits and then comes to the net fast. He doesn’t miss the net much.”

Ovechkin’s accuracy as an underrated part of his shot. Combining that with his volume — his 6,847 shots on goal are the most in NHL history — is one of the keys to his success.

Another is his ability to find the open areas on the ice.

“Obviously, his shot is world-class, but it’s a lot more than that because there’s been a lot of people that have been good shooters that have been in the League,” said goalie Darcy Kuemper, who played with Ovechkin for two seasons with Washington before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings last offseason. “But his instincts, his scoring instincts, he knows where to go, where the puck’s going to go, how to get open.”