Ovechkin grateful for chance to win Stanley Cup again with Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. --Alex Ovechkin said he is grateful the NHL figured out a way to award the Stanley Cup this season and that he believes the Washington Capitals have a good chance to win it.

"Every player wants to play for a Cup, right?" Ovechkin said Monday following the first practice of training camp. "We have that opportunity right now to go back and hope we are going to win. Obviously, if you look at our roster, we have a very good group of guys, experienced guys and talented guys. I'm looking forward to it."

The Capitals (41-20-8, .652) were third in the Eastern Conference in points percentage and will play the Boston Bruins (44-14-12, .714), Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-6, .657) and Philadelphia Flyers (41-21-7, .645) in a round-robin at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Washington's first game is against Tampa Bay on Aug. 3. The next eight teams in points percentage in the conference will play in four best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifier series with the winners advancing to play the Capitals, Bruins, Lightning or Flyers in the playoffs.

Ovechkin said his health and that of his wife, Nastya, and their two young children (son Sergei will turn 2 on Aug. 18, and son Ilya was born May 27) remain his priority. He also said he didn't hesitate to return to play after the League and NHL Players' Association agreed upon the protocols for training camp and the resumption of games.

"I'm pretty sure my wife (will) support me, it doesn't matter what decision I will make, but, obviously, I miss hockey and they miss hockey," Ovechkin said. "So for me it's not even a question to skip it or play."

Ovechkin said he benefited from having his personal trainer, Pavel Burlachenko, with him after the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. They split time between the Washington area and Miami. Burlachenko returned to Russia on Sunday, but left Ovechkin feeling good about his conditioning.

"I think I'm in pretty good shape right now and it's just a matter of time to feel the puck and all those kind of little things," Ovechkin said.

Washington coach Todd Reirden said he was pleased with the conditioning of all the Capitals players, who practiced in two groups. Rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov and defensemen Michal Kempny and Alexander Alexeyev were the only players on the training camp roster who did not skate.

Ovechkin tied David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins for the NHL lead with 48 goals, the ninth time in his 15 NHL seasons he's led the League in goals, while climbing into eighth in NHL history with 706 goals. With his contract due to expire after next season, Ovechkin was eligible to sign an extension beginning Monday but said he hasn't had any discussions with the Capitals about that.

"Not even talking, not even thinking about it because right now we have lots of stuff to do," Ovechkin said.

First on Ovechkin's agenda is helping the Capitals end this season by winning the Stanley Cup, like they did in 2018. The opening of training camp was the first step toward that.

"It's a very exciting time," Ovechkin said. "Obviously everybody [misses] hockey, everybody [misses] spending time together. Right now, this is a very good time for us. We can't wait for when we go to play hockey together."