Alex Ovechkin got on the scoresheet Sunday in his first game action since the Washington Capitals were eliminated in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ovechkin was one of 20 Russian NHL All-Stars to play in the annual “Match of the Year” against a team of KHL Stars at CSKA Arena in Moscow. The charity event, organized by Artemi Panarin and Mikhail Sergachev, saw the NHL players win in a blowout, 15-3.
The Great 8’s goal in the second period was the 10th for the NHL team, a backdoor tap-in assisted by Panarin.
Ovechkin, who was gifted a new car and honored for breaking the NHL goals record pregame, skated on his team’s first line with Panarin and Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov. He played in the game wearing his Capitals colored helmet and gloves.
Other goal scorers included Panarin, Svechnikov, Vasily Podkolzin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vitali Kravtsov, Nikolay Goldobin, Kirill Kaprizov, Maxim Tsyplakov, Vladislav Gavrikov, Kirill Marchenko, Evgeni Malkin, Matvei Michkov, and Andrei Kuzmenko.
Michkov tallied the prettiest of the goals, finally finishing the wraparound lacrosse-style play he tried several times for the Philadelphia Flyers this past year.
Before puck drop, Ovechkin had his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, on the ice with him during warmups. Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya, and his mother, Tatyana, were also in attendance, watching the game from the stands.
The family just returned to Russia from their month-long vacation in Turkey earlier this week.
Ovechkin also tossed a handful of pucks over the glass to fans.
According to the event’s Telegram page, the sold-out game raised 30 million rubles ($385k) for children with disabilities.
The amount brought in is over triple what they collected last year ($127k).
