Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal on an empty netter Sunday as the Capitals beat the Kraken, 4-2. It also marked his 1600th career point.
Counting this one as an empty-net trick shot pic.twitter.com/UjGZMxZtkw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
Ovechkin, the past and present of the Capitals, wasn’t the only player to hit a milestone. Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have long been part of the future of the Washington Capitals. Now, the two 2019 draft picks are part of the present as the pair reach milestones and establish career highs.
McMichael, who was picked 24th overall registered his 100th career point (49g, 51a) in his 219th NHL game. He recorded the secondary assist on a Martin Fehervary goal that, at the time, gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead. The former first round pick has already established career highs in goals, assists and points in a single season. McMichael would then score his 50th career goal to give the Caps a late 3-2 lead.
Going to be thinking about this Carly shot-pass for a minute pic.twitter.com/5WjLhlNWDk
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
“It means a lot,” McMichael said of 100 points. “It’s a small milestone but its one along the way. Hopefully there’s al lot more.”
Protas, the 91st overall pick in 2019, had the primary assist on the Fehervary goal for his 30th of the season. The 30 was already a career high (after 23 last season) but this year, Protas has also scored 25 goals after having 13 in his previous 169 games.
All Pro feed. All-Pro finish. pic.twitter.com/tXSZOjj0TF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
When asked about Protas, Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery asked back, “got an hour?”
“He’s grown exponentially,” Carbery who coached him in Hershey continued. “The thing I appreciate about him is he’s so coachable. [He] wants feedback. To me, that’s why he’s continued to get better. He’s constantly in pursuit of being the best version of himself every single day.”
Dylan Strome, who scored to give the Caps a 2-1 lead at the time, also reached a milestone as he played in his 500th career game.
A beauty of a shot on a milestone night for Stromer pic.twitter.com/TopJRC58VL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
With less than 20 games to go before the playoffs begin, the Capitals will need all four; the past present and future, to reach another level as they look to make a deep postseason run.
