It is hard to imagine that the NHL's all-time leader in regular-season goals did not have a playoff overtime winner, but that was true for Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin before 2:26 into overtime on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin notched his first playoff overtime winner in a 3-2 victory to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead in the series, and he had a simple take on the goal.

“A goal is a goal,” Alex Ovechkin said, via Tom Guilitti of NHL.com. “And in the playoffs, especially, it doesn't matter who scores.”

It was Ovechkin's 152nd Stanley Cup Playoff game in his career, and now he has checked off another box for his career in the Capitals' first playoff game in 2025. He was all over the score sheet in the game, as he scored the first goal of the game on the power play, and also assisted on Anthony Beauvillier's goal, which gave Washington a 2-0 lead.

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The young Canadiens came storming back, however. Cole Caufield scored just about halfway through the third period to cut the Capitals' lead to 2-1, and then Nick Suzuki scored with under five minutes to play to tie the game at 2-2, which eventually sent it to overtime.

The Capitals came into this series as the favorite, and they are the top seed in the Eastern Conference. However, Game 1 showed that the Canadiens will not be a pushover. The Capitals will look to take a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2, which will take place on Wednesday in Washington before the series shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4.

It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens respond, or if the Capitals will be able to take control of the series. The winner of this series will take on the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils series in the second round.