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Capitals Make Alex Ovechkin Announcement During Game 4 Loss to Hurricanes

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Emily Bicks | Last updated May 12, 2025 11:10 PM ET

The Washington Capitals looked to even the series when they faced the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Second Round of the NHL playoffs on May 12.

Following a rough 4-0 loss to Carolina at the Lenovo Center in Game 3 -- Washington's first playoff shutout since 2020 -- Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery remained positive about the team's outlook.

"I’ve always appreciated the fact that our guys are a confident group, and they feel like in any environment against any team on any given night, we absolutely can beat anyone in this league. And we’ve shown that all year long," Carbery told reporters.

However, Washington ultimately fell to the Canes 5-2 in Game 4.

While there are very few good things to say about the Capitals performance on Monday night, Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record during the regular season, scored for the first time during this second-round series.

The team captain's third-period goal also broke a new NHL record. The Capitals announced , "Ovechkin scores his fifth goal of the playoffs to cut the deficit to 3-2. With the goal, Ovechkin passed Mario Lemieux (76) for the 12th-most playoff goals in NHL history.

"In addition, Ovechkin has passed Nicklas Lindstrom (30) and Joe Pavelski (30) for the fifth-most playoff power-play goals in NHL history."

The Captain has us back in it#ALLCAPS | @aerovironment pic.twitter.com/4fUu4F6TpM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 13, 2025

While Ovechkin has reached hockey immortality, the 39-year-old would be the first person to say he cares more about team wins than personal records.

Unfortunately, the Hurricanes, a shot-volume heavy team, continue to keep Washington on defense and keeping Ovechkin from doing what he does best -- scoring goals.

Ovechkin and the Capitals now face a must-win Game 5 when the series returns to the Washington on Thursday, May 14.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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