Love and passion can only take you so far. If you truly want to be the best in business, you have to take risks every once in a while. And the NHL is all about high-risk, high-reward. With that in mind, it’s probably not surprising that Alex Ovechkin rules the sport and has established himself as one of the GOATs of the game.

Ask any of Ovechkin’s teammates, and most of them would agree that he is a “monster on a forecheck“. While the Russian is the all-time greatest goalscorer in the NHL, his defensive skills have also been crucial to the team’s incredible success. But, sometimes, even Alex can get a little carried away and put himself in danger while trying to ensure his squad has firm control of things.

The Washington Capitals took to the ice at the Centre Bell for Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens. And surely enough, Alex Ovechkin had no intentions of making it easy for the Canadiens. However, his determination almost got him into soup. In a post by Sportsnet on X from April 27, Alex’s dangerous play was shared to highlight just how close the Moscow native and the Capitals’ leading goalscorer in the postseason was to missing out on the remainder of the 2025 playoffs.

Captioned, “Ovi comin’ in hot,” the post shows Ovie trying to get the puck from Montreal’s Alexander Carrier by slamming into the latter against the wall. However, Alex miscalculates things by a little and misses the Canadiens’ star, only to go over the fences and into the Montreal bench. Thankfully, though, the hosts didn’t have any funny ideas and chose to let Alex Ovechkin go about his business even after he crashed into them.

Yeah, that was indeed something to see. Why? Because the last time these two Eastern Conference giants met on Friday, it was ruckus all around. In Game 3 of the seven-game series, the Caps’ Tom Wilson and the Habs’ Josh Anderson got into a fair exchange of fists that spilled over into the benches. A bizarre scene, and fans were naturally amused to witness the rare incident. However, tonight, Ovechkin also probably had to exercise some restraint.

“League didn’t like the incidents that happened during last game,” said TVA Sports’ hockey reporter Renaud Lavoie via a post on X just hours ago. The journo’s social media update also noted that the folks over at the NHL warned both teams to be more careful going forward and not let the emotions get under their skins. Talk about grabbing the attention of the community! But it looks like Alex, true to his aggressive play style, still pondered the option to take Carrier out of the game. However, maybe the Montreal star remembered how his teammate, Cole Caufield, had the bad luck to collide with Ovechkin earlier in the series and had something to say about it.

“Don’t recommend it,” Caufield told ESPN after the Caps’ captain threw the latter off his feet during Game 1 last Monday. But while the Habs stars scurry to keep clear of Ovechkin’s way, how does Washington’s chances of progression deeper into the playoffs look like?

Alex Ovechkin and Co. look comfortable (for now)

The Caps were the first team to qualify for the 2025 Playoffs. The Metropolitan Division heavyweights clinched their spot in the postseason as early as March and even went on to secure the top seed in the division. The only thing that made everything sweeter was the scintillating conclusion to Alex Ovechkin’s Gr8 Chase. Scoring 44 goals in the regular season, Ovie smashed through the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky’s record and seated himself on a throne that is unrivaled. For obvious reasons, it was a party that followed.

However, the Russian’s seminal career milestone seemed to have taken the focus off the task at hand, and Washington finished its regular season with three defeats in its last five matches, with the biggest 7-0 loss coming at the hands of the Blue Jackets. Fans were livid and urged that Spencer Carbery stop experimenting with the lineup in the imminent playoffs.

While the Caps started the postseason with two back-to-back wins at home against Montreal, they suffered a setback when they crossed the border to meet the Habs at the latter’s rink at Centre Bell. Naturally, Coach Carbery wasn’t amused to see his boys getting lax. To make things worse, it seemed like Logan Thompson suffered a major injury scare. But fortunately, for Carbery, Thompson (statistically the fifth-best goalie this postseason) was cleared to play and pulled some insane saves to help the Capitals clinch a crucial 5-2 victory, and a comfortable 3-1 lead as the series moves back to the Capital One Arena.

Granted, the series is far from over. But a 3-1 deficit may prove to be too steep a climb for the Canadiens, and they have struggled to keep up with the Capitals’ physical game. But if the Capitals do manage to keep the momentum up and reach Round 2, the odds are that they’ll go up against the Carolina Hurricanes (3-1 up against the New Jersey Devils), who could prove to be a far trickier customer than the young Canadiens. In fact, per MoneyPuck they have the highest odds of winning the Stanley Cup at 14.8% while Ovechkin and Co. are at 7th at 7.2%. But then again, hockey is not just numbers and odds.

Do you think Alex Ovechkin and the rest will be able to maintain their winning ways two days later? With Ovie not getting himself on the scoresheet today, will he be eager to rake up his postseason stats the next time he laces up? Tell us your thoughts in a comment!