Ovechkin Goal

Ovechkin's goal, one of the most impressive of his distinguished four-year career, came midway through the opening period. Roman Hamrlik's defense partner, Mike Komisarek, missed him with a rinkwide pass, and then Ovechkin beat him to it as it caromed off the boards. Alex Ovechkin had the defining memory of the evening, and his linemates ensured the Washington Capitals collected two points.

Last year's MVP backhanded the puck to himself off the left boards - throwing in a flashy spin move to maneuver around Hamrlik - and then broke for the net. Montreal's Kyle Chipchura hauled Ovechkin down as he tried to go around him with one hand on his stick, but the Russian superstar had enough body control to keep possession of the puck and then slip it inside the near post as he slid between the hash marks on his backside.

"You have to try something new," Ovechkin said of the spin-o-rama in the neutral zone. "Sometimes I try in practice, and [teammates] say, 'What are you doing?' Sometimes I just need to change my game, and it is working." I'd probably rank that one No. 2 [behind 'The Goal']," Steckel said. "He was on his back again, and he still has the hockey sense to stay with it and keep his head down on it. I thought it was pretty amazing.