Sidney Crosby Sends 6-Word Alex Ovechkin Warning After Capitals Season Ends

Given their 51-win, 111-point season, the Washington Capitals were expected to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Unfortunately for them, they ran into a buzzsaw in the second round in the Carolina Hurricanes, who dispatched Washington in five games and sent them home with a 3-1 Game 5 win on Thursday.

The season may have ended earlier than expected, but it’s one that many fans won’t soon forget thanks to star forward Alex Ovechkin.

The 39-year-old Russian had one of the better offensive seasons of his career, logging 44 goals and 73 points in 65 games while writing his name in the NHL record book along the way.

Ovechkin broke NHL legend Wayne Gretzky’s record for most career goals (897), and he also set new NHL marks for most 40-goal seasons (14), most 30-goal seasons (19), most goals scored after 30 (breaking Hall of Famer Gordie Howe’s previous record), game-winning goals, first-period goals and goalies scored against in his career.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skate in the second period at Capital One Arena.Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

He also became the first player to score 200 or more goals in three different decades.

And while the Capitals try to piece together what went wrong and regroup for next year, some believe that Ovechkin could be ready to call it a career given he finally chased down Gretzky’s goal-scoring record.

However, Pittsburgh Penguins star and top on-ice rival Sidney Crosby doesn’t appear to be one of them.

“I don’t expect him to retire,” Crosby stated.

Despite being a few months away from turning 40, Ovechkin still ranked third in the NHL in goals, fifth in power-play goals (15), 15th in game-winning goals (seven), and he ranked in the top 40 in both shots (237) and points.

For those reasons, Crosby believes Ovechkin still has plenty left in the tank, making it unlikely he walks away while he’s still at the top of his game, which could be bad news for the rest of the NHL.

“He’s playing unbelievable,” he continued. “Even at his age, what he’s able to do is pretty incredible, so if he feels good, I’m sure he’ll keep going. They had high expectations this year with the season that they had, I’m sure it’s a little disappointing.

“But with the year that he had and what he accomplished, I mean I think it was cool, obviously for him and his team, but everybody that’s in the league and was able to be part of that. That’s a pretty rare thing to experience.”

Sidney Crosby Sends 6-Word Alex Ovechkin Warning After Capitals Season Ends

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