Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin called his teammates back on to the ice after a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday to pay their respects to retiring goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Ovechkin did not let a 4-2 loss to the Wild at Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota stop him from honoring the Wild star goalie, who is expected to retire at the end of the 2024-25 NHL season, as the 39-year-old Washington forward called his teammates to shake Fleury's hands.

Alex Ovechkin initiated a memorable moment on the ice in Minnesota even though he went scoreless for Washington in a 4-2 loss.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky's goal record. How he has fared vs. the teams he'll face the rest of the season.

The Capitals (47-15-9), who clinched a playoff berth last Thursday, lead the NHL with 103 points, one more than the Jets (49-19-4), who became the League’s second team to clinch a playoff berth once they earned a point against the Capitals by going to overtime.

Part of what makes Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal-scoring record so compelling is that the two players are polar opposites in some ways yet stunningly similar in others.