After 1,400 games and counting, Alex Ovechkin still doesn’t break
February 25, 2024
After 1,400 games and counting, Alex Ovechkin still doesn’t break
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**From Bailey Johnson:** When Alex Ovechkin was a rookie, his teammates were concerned he might have a heart attack.
The Washington Capitals forward, who was 20 when he played his first NHL game in 2005, has always done things his own way. Back then, that meant a pregame routine of three Red Bulls. When the rest of his teammates were drinking Gatorade or water between periods, Ovechkin was downing soda.
“We all just sat there and said: ‘Okay, this isn’t sustainable. This kid’s going to have a heart attack or something,’ ” recalled Olaf Kolzig, the former Capitals star goalie who played with Ovechkin from 2005 to 2008. “I don’t think he’s on the same game routine as he was with the Red Bulls and the Cokes, but I don’t think he’s drinking the same amount of water as everybody else.”
Nineteen seasons later, the details of that routine have evolved, but what remains the same is Ovechkin’s commitment to his own unusual habits. And after he played in his 1,400th game [Saturday against the Florida Panthers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/24/capitals-panthers-overtime-loss/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7), becoming just the 41st player in NHL history to reach that milestone, he was probably the first one to do it while sipping from a bottle filled with Pepsi on the bench.
1 comment
**From Bailey Johnson:** When Alex Ovechkin was a rookie, his teammates were concerned he might have a heart attack.
The Washington Capitals forward, who was 20 when he played his first NHL game in 2005, has always done things his own way. Back then, that meant a pregame routine of three Red Bulls. When the rest of his teammates were drinking Gatorade or water between periods, Ovechkin was downing soda.
“We all just sat there and said: ‘Okay, this isn’t sustainable. This kid’s going to have a heart attack or something,’ ” recalled Olaf Kolzig, the former Capitals star goalie who played with Ovechkin from 2005 to 2008. “I don’t think he’s on the same game routine as he was with the Red Bulls and the Cokes, but I don’t think he’s drinking the same amount of water as everybody else.”
Nineteen seasons later, the details of that routine have evolved, but what remains the same is Ovechkin’s commitment to his own unusual habits. And after he played in his 1,400th game [Saturday against the Florida Panthers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/24/capitals-panthers-overtime-loss/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7), becoming just the 41st player in NHL history to reach that milestone, he was probably the first one to do it while sipping from a bottle filled with Pepsi on the bench.
**Read more:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/25/alex-ovechkin-1400-games/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/25/alex-ovechkin-1400-games/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)