ARLINGTON, va. — A day after turning 30, Alex Ovechkin opened training camp with the Washington Capitals for his 11th NHL season.
If the guy known as “Ovi” was blasé about the milestone birthday — “Next year, it’s going to be 31,” he noted with a shrug — his attitude about entering his second decade in the league took on a far more serious tone Friday.
“I feel like a real veteran right now, obviously. We have to do some big things right now,” Ovechkin said, “because (it’s been) 10 years, and obviously it’s been the same thing.”
By “same thing,” he presumably was referring to Washington’s failure to win more than one series in any postseason since Ovechkin joined the team. He also could have meant the 3-6 record in Game 7s.
Last season, for example, the Capitals took a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven, second-round series against the New York Rangers, then were 101 seconds from closing it out in Game 5 but wound up eliminated with a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 7.
“Every year we talk about, ‘This team can do something.’ I think right now, it’s not (for) talking. We have to do it,” said Ovechkin, who was wearing an aqua T-shirt and shorts, along with flip-flops. “It’s 10 years. We have to move forward and take a big step.”
The Russian left wing led the NHL with 53 goals last season, making him one of only six players in history to reach at least 50 a half-dozen times. The others? Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur.
“The consistency is unbelievable,” said new Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie, acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. “I feel like a lot of us are just scratching to get to 20 every year, and he’s working his way up to 50.”
