Alex Ovechkin’s Two Assists in 20 Seconds Are the Fastest of His Career

Alex Ovechkin set another personal record on Saturday with two assists in the span of 20 seconds against Buffalo, as he got the helpers on Jakob Chychrun and Dylan Strome’s first period goals.

While that’s kind of neat, especially for a 40-year-old hockey player, many Caps players, Ovi included, have scored two goals in less than 20 seconds. The team record is by Stephen Leach, who did it in ten seconds in 1990, while Ovi did it 12 seconds.

The two assists give Ovi 756 for his career, which bumps him up to 49th on the career list, past Doug Weight. And while he’s not destined to climb too much higher on the list, there is one number that can make him the Capitals’ all-time assist leader: 762, owned by longtime teammate, Nicklas Backstrom.

Of course, Backstrom’s assist total happened in 1,105 games, while Ovi just played in his 1,568, so by no means does Ovi breaking the team record make him the best passer in Caps history. In fact, many of his assists don’t even come off of passes, but rebounds hit in by other teammates.

With just five games left in the season and a big question mark about Ovechkin’s future, he might not get this team record, which I’m sure he’ll be fine not having. But if he gets it, expect another one of those pre-game ceremonies where he nods, smiles, and is gifted a golden stick or whatever.

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