Those short drives from Alex Ovechkin’s first Washington apartment to the downtown hockey rink were five minutes the Capitals superstar will never forget. A 20-year-old Ovechkin would punch the 601 F St. NW address into his car navigation system, and though he drove there 41 times that season, Ovechkin still needed the directions. Then came the pinch-me moment.
Thirteen years after that first Ovechkin season, he’s poised to play his 1,000th game with the Capitals on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, the first in franchise history to reach that milestone. He’s evolved from the brazen rookie to the team’s captain and longest-tenured player.