The Washington Capitals held a “Gr8ness” Pregame Ceremony before their tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 10th. The ceremony was just one of several celebrations in honor of captain Alex Ovechkin becoming the NHL’s All-Time goals leader. NoVa Caps’ photojournalist Joe Noyes captured all the action from Capital One Arena on Thursday. You can follow his excellent work on his Instagram page or visit his website.
Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal to take sole possession of the NHL record during the second period of the Capitals’ matinee against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on April 6th. It marked the Washington capitain’s 42nd goal of the 2024-25 season.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, chairman Dick Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan joined Ovechkin’s wife Nastya, sons Sergei and Ilya, mom Tatyana and father-in-law Kirill on the ice to honor Ovechkin.
During the ceremony, Ovechkin received special gifts from the Leonsis family, the organization, and his teammates, including a massive six-foot, 80-pound sculpture featuring game-used sticks and casts of his skates, and a golden stick to commemorate his 895th goal. They also gave Sergei and Ilya golden mini sticks.
Joe also captured some awesome photos during warmups:
The Capitals would down the Hurricanes, 5-4 in a shootout, earning their 50th win of the season and clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2025 postseason.
By Della Young
