What Goes Into Setting Up An Alex Ovechkin Goal?

The Washington Capitals walk through what it takes to set up the Great 8 for a goal.

It’s a sight that’s been seen a record-setting 897 times and counting.

Alex Ovechkin teeing the puck up on his blade, flexing his stick so far it looks like it’ll break from the pressure and goalies bracing themselves but being unable to do much as the puck barrels into the back of the net.

Goals have become second nature to the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.

“I love to score goals,” Ovechkin told me, a grin spreading across his face, adding matter-of-factly. “Without goals, you can’t win.”

When it comes to that feeling, what it’s like to score a goal, is it such a rush that you can’t really put it into words?

“Yeah, something like that,” Ovechkin agreed.

It’s Ovechkin’s lethal shot and vision, along with his 6-foot-3, 238-pound frame and 100-flex magic wand, that make him such a dangerous player in the offensive zone.

But at the end of the day, for him to score goals, someone has to get him the puck, right?

That said, how does one set up an Alex Ovechkin goal? The Capitals will tell you.

First off, as T.J. Oshie once said: “There’s no betting against ‘the big man.’” Ovechkin, entering his 21st NHL season, has been around the block a few times. His experience speaks for itself.

That said, he knows what it takes to find twine and knows exactly where to go on the ice to do it.

“He knows what he likes on the ice… he’s good at communicating and where to go,” Dylan Strome, who has been Ovechkin’s No. 1 center over the last couple of seasons, explained.

Strome — and Ovechkin on the night he tied Wayne Gretzky — also emphasized that the puck shouldn’t be bouncing when it makes it over to No. 8’s stick.

“If Stromer give me a nice pass, like a flat one, it would probably be (895),” Ovechkin quipped of getting chances to reach 895 with a hat-trick goal on April 4.

“You make sure the passes are flat. He likes the flat passes,” Strome noted.

It makes catching the puck easier for Ovechkin, who can then transfer all the power into his curve — a drastic take on the typical P92 curve that is incredibly open and spoon-like, the best kind of curves for writers and one-timers. It’s the perfect formula for shooters who like to elevate the puck.

“It’s so hard to score a goal in this league, and just the ways he’s been able to do it over and over and over again… that’s just impressive,” linemate Anthony Beauvillier said.

Beyond the passing, there’s other work to be done: the nitty-gritty work that’s by no means glorious, but vital to getting the job done.

“Working hard, getting pucks, recovering pucks, getting them to Strome or getting them to the centerman who can find Ovi, just creating space for those guys,” Tom Wilson, who’s played on Ovechkin’s line for years, said, adding, “You want to try and get him the puck as much as you can, and obviously, he’ll find the back of the net.”

At times, though, the Capitals tend to disagree with just force-feeding the 39-year-old the puck.

“He wasn’t always open,” Nicklas Backstrom, who has assisted on the most Ovechkin goals of any player with 279 helpers, joked.

Finally, there are tools away from the ice that Ovechkin leverages; he’ll bring the iPad out on the bench and review film with his linemates, helping them find new ways to make an impact if things aren’t clicking.

“He’s very vocal… whenever he talks on the bench, it’s good to listen,” Strome smiled.

All of those factors ultimately come together to help players put the puck on a platter for Ovechkin, which is why he’s on his way to becoming the first player with 900-plus goals.

Besides, without the playmakers, there would be no record to begin with.