April is a month for cherry blossoms and warm days in Washington. And, while the regular season games in the NHL are fewer as teams prepare for the playoffs or a long summer, those games have been productive goal-scoring games in the career of Alex Ovechkin. Here is how the month breaks down over his career.
April by the Numbers
April is the fourth month of the calendar year, but the last one on the NHL regular season calendar. The instances of goal scoring are fewer, but they are no less important or noteworthy. Here are some of the most noteworthy facts and numbers with respect to Alex Ovechkin’s goal-scoring performance in April:
The Highlight Game
Sometimes the most noteworthy event comes, not late in career when milestones are met and passed, but right at the beginning. Such was the case for Alex Ovechkin and his April goal scoring ledger. One might not have expected an historic night in Boston between a pair of struggling teams, but it would turn out that way. The Caps opened the scoring against the Bruins on a second period goal by Dainius Zubrus, and Mark Stuart tied things up for the home team mid-way through the third period. That would be all the scoring in regulation for the two squads.
In overtime, Zubrus spun away from a Bruin defender at the right wing boards in the defensive end and sent a cross-ice pass to Ovechkin exiting the zone. Ovechkin skated the puck along the left wing boards to the center red line, and then he cut across the grain of the Boston defense. From the right wing circle in the offensive zone, Ovechkin used Stuart as a screen and wristed a shot that beat goalie Tim Thomas on the near side, and the Caps had a 2-1 win. For Ovechkin it was his 49th goal of his rookie season, but it was his 100th point, making him the first rookie in 13 seasons to post 100 points in his rookie year, the last being Teemu Selanne in 1992-1993. Ovechkin finished with 52 goals and 106 points on his way to winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.