All the eyes are pinned on Alex Ovechkin as he nears a major NHL record. The Capitals star is just 6 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of the most goals scored in the league. With the 39-year-old in good form, everyone is expecting Ovechkin to achieve this feat over the next few games. With the Russian star being the talk of the town now, he made a candid revelation about his diet plans ahead of breaking the Great One’s record.

When it comes to food, Ovechkin’s got some bizarre set of rules that would surprise anyone, especially since he’s out with a mission to break Gretzky’s record. Any other player would follow a strict diet plan before a special career moment like achieving a major NHL feat. However, Ovechkin’s got other ideas.

During an interview, he was asked about his recent diet plan and food habits. During travel, any conventional player would follow a light meal. However, Alex Ovechkin’s go-to travel diet plan includes Subway with a side of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Interestingly, it also works for him and enables him to perform better.

Ovechkin further added, “Some people go on a diet during the season. Some don’t eat pasta, some don’t eat meat… But I eat whatever I want.” Subsequently, he was also asked about his preparations for the big moment, to which he replied, “I hate prep. I hate it. I just don’t like training. Before the season, that’s the hardest part. Can you imagine, after vacation, you arrive, you’re tan, everything’s fine, happy, and your coach calls you and says, ‘Well Sasha, tomorrow we start training.’ And it starts, you go to training, then rest, then another training. I hate it, I can’t stand it.”

Amid this record chase, any other player could get carried away by the weight of expectations. However, Alex Ovechkin has stood tall and earned the praise of his coach.

Alex Ovechkin praised for managing his record chase efficiently

Ever since Ovechkin was nearly 100 goals short of Gretzky’s record, talks began to erupt over the great chase. Moreover, the Capitals dearly required him in order to have the hope of making it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Even during this personal record chase, Ovechkin has put his team above everyone else in order to succeed. As a result, their coach made a candid revelation on the preparations and attitude of Ovechkin ahead of this record chase.

The coach, Spencer Carbery, said, “But man, he’s such a pro when he comes to this stuff and he’s been down this road chasing different records, pressure, all this stuff. So, he handles it with such class and deflects it all and makes it more about what we’re doing as a team. He’s one of the greatest goal-scorers, so if someone did that four seasons ago, you wouldn’t be shocked.”

With Alex Ovechkin just 6 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record, the NHL viewership figures are likely to go high. Thus, all the eyes would be on Ovechkin as he gets set to overcome one of the long-standing records in the league.