Ovechkin broke three record in one match
Alexander Ovechkin gave the worst start in his career. In a game with the Buffalo Sabres, he spent less than 12 minutes on the ice for the first time, excluding injury matches
Captain “Washington Capitals” Alexander Ovechkin did not differ in effective actions in the match with “Buffalo Sabres” on the night of October 25.
In this match, he set several record.
For the first ten matches, the 41-year-old Ovechkin noted only one puck. This was the worst start for all his years in the league.
The Russian scored the only puck in the third match of the season - on October 12 in the gate of Seattle Kraken
For the first time in his career, Ovechkin scored less than five points in the first ten games. Earlier, Ovechkin four times completed the ten-game stretch at the start of the regular season, having two abandoned goals (in the seasons 2008/09, 2012/13, 2023/24 and 2025/26).
The worst performance of Alexander Ovechkin in the first ten NHL games in his career:
Season 2012/13: 2 goals + 3 assists - only 5 points Season 2014/15: 5 goals + 2 assists - only 7 points Season 2025/26: 2 goals + 5 assists - only 7 points
In the match with “Buffalo” he led on the court 11 minutes 43 seconds, 14 shifts and marked one throw.
He spent less than 12 minutes on the ice for the first time in his career (excluding injury matches). Prior to that, he had only twice spent less than 12 minutes on the ice - 12:46 in the first match of the season, 12:57 - in March 2026 in a match with the Ottawa Senators.
This is only the fourth time Ovechkin has spent less than 13 minutes on the ice. In May 2021, he left the court due to an injury in the 39th second of the meeting.
Before the 2023/24 season, he had only spent less than 14 minutes on the ice in the NHL three times.
Also, Ovechkin had the least number of shifts in the match without taking into account injuries - 14.
The current season for Ovechkin is the 22nd and last in the NHL, as well as the 18th as captain of the Washington. Now the Russian has only two assists left to repeat the club record for this indicator. He already has 761 assists.
Also this season, Ovechkin can surpass the achievement of Wayne Gretzky in the total number of goals in the NHL, taking into account the regular championship and playoffs. Now the Russian has 1007 goals (930 in the regulars and 77 in the playoffs), while Gretzky has 1016 goals per career (894 in the regulars and 122 in the playoffs).
