Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
December 21, 2023 - Over the course of Alex Ovechkin's chase of the all-time goals record, his ability to defy Father Time had propelled him to make what was once thought impossible seem reachable. That is not to say, however, that there were never any bumps in the road. The start of the 2023-24 season was particularly shaky for Ovechkin, who began the year with just 5 goals in 15 games - tied for the fewest he'd ever had through as many games (2013). If that wasn't bad enough, it was about to get a whole lot worse. After a goal against the Blue Jackets on November 18, the Great 8 would not score again for over a month. For 14 games, Ovechkin was held off the goals column; the longest drought of his career. It was only the second time he'd ever been held goalless in 10 straight games, let alone 14. Against the last team he had scored against, the Capitals' captain looked determined to end the drought, with one of his best games of the season to date. Despite his best efforts, Ovechkin was still unable to dent the twine throughout regulation, and with Elvis Merzlikins making one great save after another, it felt as if the drought would extend to 15. In overtime, though, it was Merzlikins who gave Ovechkin his best chance to break the drought when he received a penalty for roughing Tom Wilson after he crashed into the net on a rush up the ice. With just under a minute left in OT, Strome found Ovechkin, who settled the puck before firing home his first goal in 58 shots and a whopping 122 shot attempts. With the weight on his shoulders lifted, Ovechkin leaped into the arms of John Carlson like it was the Rock the Red era all over again, before quickly turning to join the entire team in giving Merzlikins an earful about his penalty. Ovechkin would go on to score a much more respectable 25 goals in the remaining 49 games, managing to reach the 30-goal plateau for a record 18th time, and putting him within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record, which he broke the very next season.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Intro
0:24 - Hit on Kirill Marchenko
0:33 - Nice pass to Strome for chance
0:42 - Steal leads to chances for the Caps
1:08 - Shot
1:33 - Shot
1:42 - Assist
- 2nd Period -
2:38 - Breakout pass and shot
3:15 - Shot off the post
3:26 - Shot
3:35 - Pass to Wilson for chance
3:55 - Pass to Carlson, Merzlikins makes another stop
4:10 - Defensive play vs. Chinakov to prevent high-danger shot
- 3rd Period -
4:18 - Physicality against Kent Johnson
4:42 - Shot
4:55 - End of regulation
- Overtime -
5:45 - Tom Wilson ends up in the Columbus net, Merzlikins penalized after throwing punches at him
6:17 - Shot
6:23 - Goal, 26th career overtime goal, first goal in 14 games
6:36 - Ovi and the Caps yell at Merzlikins
7:47 - Post-game interview with Al Koken
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
December 21, 2023 - Over the course of Alex Ovechkin's chase of the all-time goals record, his ability to defy Father Time had propelled him to make what was once thought impossible seem reachable. That is not to say, however, that there were never any bumps in the road. The start of the 2023-24 season was particularly shaky for Ovechkin, who began the year with just 5 goals in 15 games - tied for the fewest he'd ever had through as many games (2013). If that wasn't bad enough, it was about to get a whole lot worse. After a goal against the Blue Jackets on November 18, the Great 8 would not score again for over a month. For 14 games, Ovechkin was held off the goals column; the longest drought of his career. It was only the second time he'd ever been held goalless in 10 straight games, let alone 14. Against the last team he had scored against, the Capitals' captain looked determined to end the drought, with one of his best games of the season to date. Despite his best efforts, Ovechkin was still unable to dent the twine throughout regulation, and with Elvis Merzlikins making one great save after another, it felt as if the drought would extend to 15. In overtime, though, it was Merzlikins who gave Ovechkin his best chance to break the drought when he received a penalty for roughing Tom Wilson after he crashed into the net on a rush up the ice. With just under a minute left in OT, Strome found Ovechkin, who settled the puck before firing home his first goal in 58 shots and a whopping 122 shot attempts. With the weight on his shoulders lifted, Ovechkin leaped into the arms of John Carlson like it was the Rock the Red era all over again, before quickly turning to join the entire team in giving Merzlikins an earful about his penalty. Ovechkin would go on to score a much more respectable 25 goals in the remaining 49 games, managing to reach the 30-goal plateau for a record 18th time, and putting him within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record, which he broke the very next season.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Intro
0:24 - Hit on Kirill Marchenko
0:33 - Nice pass to Strome for chance
0:42 - Steal leads to chances for the Caps
1:08 - Shot
1:33 - Shot
1:42 - Assist
- 2nd Period -
2:38 - Breakout pass and shot
3:15 - Shot off the post
3:26 - Shot
3:35 - Pass to Wilson for chance
3:55 - Pass to Carlson, Merzlikins makes another stop
4:10 - Defensive play vs. Chinakov to prevent high-danger shot
- 3rd Period -
4:18 - Physicality against Kent Johnson
4:42 - Shot
4:55 - End of regulation
- Overtime -
5:45 - Tom Wilson ends up in the Columbus net, Merzlikins penalized after throwing punches at him
6:17 - Shot
6:23 - Goal, 26th career overtime goal, first goal in 14 games
6:36 - Ovi and the Caps yell at Merzlikins
7:47 - Post-game interview with Al Koken
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
