Ovechkin dodges Penguins’ farewells, still mulling retirement

Washington – after them lost 3-0 on sunday, Sidney Crosby and this pittsburgh penguins Lying on the ice preparing to shake hands at the time of farewell washington capitals star Alex OvechkinJoe is considering retirement after this season.

Instead, they headed to the dressing room after Ovechkin waved them off.

‘I [haven’t] Haven’t decided yet. Thank them for waiting there,” Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin announced last week that he would make a decision about his future in the offseason after consulting with his family and the Capitals. The 40-year-old winger has 32 goals and 31 assists in 81 games in his 21st NHL season. Sunday will likely be the final home game of Ovechkin’s career if the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer chooses to retire. Fans cheered him on with “One more year!” Honored by saying. Chants throughout the game. His response to those fans?

“I’ll think about it,” he said, smiling.

It was a game filled with video tributes, standing ovations and many moments that honored Ovechkin’s decades-long rivalry with Crosby, evgeni malkin And penguins. It included a pregame photo of the three as well as a post-game meeting between the rivals away from fans and the media. Ovechkin also took the first faceoff of the game against Crosby after the Capitals scored. dylan strom Was driven out of the circle.

Strome said, “I have to give credit to the referee there. I’m not sure who it was that said that, but he thought it was a good idea. So, I was obviously involved.” “Thankfully, he didn’t score.”

No matter the final score, Crosby and the Penguins were set to honor Ovechkin in their final meeting, but Ovechkin had other ideas.

“It’s kind of in [Ovechkin] Outfit. He says, ‘I’m not retired, so leave me alone.’ I don’t want to shake anybody’s hand,” Capitals coach Spencer Carberry said. “And honestly, I think, ‘We could see them in a week.'”

The Capitals swept their weekend home-and-home series against the Penguins, giving Washington 93 points with one game remaining on Tuesday. columbus blue jackets.

The Capitals have to win that game and get philadelphia flyers They lost their two remaining games – on Monday against Carolina and on Tuesday against Montreal, both at home – and fell to third place in the Metro Division.

If that happens, the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry isn’t over yet: Washington and Pittsburgh will meet in the first round, while the Penguins will be the second-place team in the metro. This will be the fifth playoff series meeting between Ovechkin and Crosby.

Each series winner has won the Stanley Cup in that season: Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017, and Washington in 2018.

Center Connor McMichael He had two third-period goals in the win over Pittsburgh, including an empty-netter to seal the win, with an assist from Ovechkin.

Although making the playoffs would mean Ovechkin’s journey continues, Sunday’s home game with the possibility of it being his last with the Capitals was the focus for fans and teammates.

“You can’t put into words what he’s done for this city. I mean, he’s really changed the game of hockey. What he’s done will probably never be done again for any franchise,” he said. Tom WilsonOvechkin’s classmate. “I think there are thousands of kids who have played this game because of him and look up to him every day. He’s worn it all and done it with class, no matter how much pressure he’s been under. He continues to exceed expectations and remains a legend of the game.”

When Ovechkin was announced as the game’s No. 1 star, he received a warm welcome. He applauded the fans while skating in celebration and thanked them for their support in a post-game interview from the bench, as he again chanted “One more year!” Raised the slogan of.

The Capitals faced a unique challenge heading into their last regular season home game. Following the announcement of Ovechkin’s offseason decision last week, Washington team officials met to discuss how to “strike a thoughtful balance” between giving fans a chance to celebrate his legacy and respecting the fact that Ovechkin “has not officially retired.”

The team was also aware that some fans had paid a significant amount of money in the resale market on the occasion that this was Ovechkin’s final home game.

According to Vivid Seats, the average ticket sales price of $310 made it the third most sought-after Capitals regular-season home game on record (since 2007). The two games that had a higher average were against carolina storm Capitals’ next game after Ovechkin’s breakdown on April 10, 2025 wayne gretzkyNHL all-time goals record New York IslandersAnd the flag was raised against their Stanley Cup championship banner on October 3, 2018 boston bruins.

The Capitals consulted with the Penguins ahead of the home-and-home series between the teams to discuss how both organizations would approach Sunday’s final game between Ovechkin, Malkin and Crosby.

A memorable tribute: A video describing the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry, which dates back to when both entered the NHL as rookies in the 2005–06 season. After a series of game-action and behind-the-scenes clips, an announcement said: “Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, thank you for 21 years of excitement.” The fans welcomed it with a standing ovation.

It was one of two video tributes to Ovechkin on Sunday. Before the teams emerged from their dressing rooms to begin the game, a lengthy tribute was played that ended with the “GR8NESS” logo on the Jumbotron.

Ovechkin was the last player announced during the starting lineup, leading to “Ovi!” Slogans echoed. And there was a solid ovation for about a minute before the Capitals star raised his stick to thank the crowd.

Fans were ready to reluctantly say goodbye to the Capitals’ greatest player. Ovechkin reiterated after the game that he has yet to make his decision on next season.

“I was concentrating on the game. We’ll see,” he said.