“It’s just like a dream,” admitted a livid Alex Ovechkin with gleaming eyes after the Washington Capitals lifted their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2018 by beating the Golden Knights. What made the triumph even more spectacular was that it was the first time the Caps reached the finals since 1998. But fate hasn’t been as kind since that fateful night at the T-Mobile Arena, and Ovechkin & Co. have struggled to reclaim their high throne. But could 2025 finally be the year to get back on top?

In 2024, Alex and the boys were eliminated from the Stanley Cup race after the Rangers handed the former a hefty defeat in the first round of the playoffs. But Ovechkin, being the spirited star he is, refused to call it quits. “I hope I’m still going to get uh a couple chances,” he told reporters with a grin after Metropolitan Division comrades crushed Washington’s dreams. However, the Russian believes the circumstances are much different this time around.

Alex Ovechkin remains as optimistic as ever

On March 20, the Washington Capitals became the first team to qualify for the 2025 playoffs. In early April, the team went on to clinch the Metropolitan Division top spot along with the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Naturally, for the Caps clan, things are looking brighter already. And Alex Ovechkin is also feeling the excitement seep through him. In a recent video upload on the official NHL website on April 19, Ovie talked about how the long drought could finally end.

“Last year, it was kind of a battle to the last game. And obviously, in this year, it was kind of like, we knew we were gonna be in the playoffs,” Ovechkin could be heard saying when asked about Washington’s chances of winning its second Stanley Cup this year. ” After new year we just have to continue collecting the points,” he said further. With 288 goals in the 2024-25 regular season, Alex Ovechkin and his crew wrapped things up before the postseason with an impressive 51-22-9 record. ‘The time is now,’ you’d think. Probably. But there’s something still that could make winning the Cup all the more epic, even by the Caps’ standards.

Just weeks ago, Alex Ovechkin made history. Scoring against the Islanders on April 5, the Washington Capitals’ captain became the all-time highest goal-scorer in NHL history. With that, he surpassed the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing record of 894 career goals. A moment that seated Ovie in a place where he is truly beyond the reach of his peers. However, while that individual feat was undoubtedly a treat for the eyes, it was also a byproduct of the ongoing pursuit.

“That’s going to be our biggest challenge coming off of such a unique, thrilling experience celebrating that achievement and now having to completely reset mentally and focus on the task at hand of playing well as a team and making sure that we’re putting ourselves in the best position possible to play well in the playoffs,” the Capitals’ head coach Spencer Carbery said about how heading to the playoffs would be a challenge, especially after how the players got vested in Ovechkin’s “Gr8 Chase.” But what are the odds of Washington keeping forging ahead?

The first-round thriller waits to commence!

Alex Ovechkin’s side will clash against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. The seven-game series will start on Sunday, April 21. With 91 points (40-31-11) and 245 goals, the Eastern Conference giants finished the Atlantic Division in the sixth spot. Understandably, the preparations are in full swing. “I think we want to play really good defense, try to find kind of that midseason form that we were in a while ago, and just be sharp for the playoffs. I think it’s definitely within us,” Alex Ovechkin’s teammate, Dylan Strome, said about how the squad is bracing up for the climb ahead.

However, things haven’t been all that bright for the Caps in the days before the regular season wrapped up. Ovie & Co. lost three of their last five games, with the biggest defeat coming in two back-to-back matches against the Blue Jackets (7-0 and 4-1). Naturally, Coach Carbery’s gamble hasn’t been a hit, and fans made it clear that they didn’t want to see experimentations with the lineup again.

On the other hand, though, Washington narrowly escaped the President’s Trophy curse. With the Jets clinching the No. 1 seed in the NHL before the playoffs, the Caps managed to ensure their road ahead was without any bumps. But can Alex Ovechkin capitalize on the stroke of luck and go all the way to make his record all the more joyous by winning his second Stanley Cup? What do you reckon?