Flyers aim to keep Alex Ovechkin off the board in what could be his final game in Philly: ‘His shot is so lethal’

When the clock strikes noon on July 1, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin, will be an unrestricted free agent at the age of 40. Although he hasn’t confirmed anything, rumors are swirling that he could head home to Russia.

Ovechkin, who has 24 goals this season, has reiterated a few times that he would like to play for Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League again. He played for his hometown team in what was then the Russian Superleague, leading it to the RSL title before coming to the NHL. He also played 31 games during the lockout-shortened NHL season in 2012-13.

Wednesday could mark the last time “The Great 8″ plays an NHL game in Philly (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max). And although many in the crowd will be looking forward to seeing the greatest goal scorer in NHL history up close for what could be the last time, Flyers defenseman Cam York has a different take.

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“I feel like every time we play, I’ve never taken it for granted,” he said. “Obviously, watched him a ton as a kid, and he’s been an idol for so many guys. He’s grown the sport so well.

“I’ll never forget when he broke my foot, my first year, on a one-timer. It was like my welcome to the NHL moment. So it’s super cool, and if it is the last one, thank God.”

Of his 921 regular-season goals, Ovechkin has scored 52 goals in 80 career games against the Flyers, including 28 tallies in Philly. It is his third-highest total against any NHL franchise, with the Atlanta Thrashers-turned-Winnipeg Jets at No. 1 (58) and the Carolina Hurricanes second (53). He’s added seven more goals in 14 playoff games against the Orange and Black.

“I’ve just never seen someone love hockey goals more than him,” said forward Garnet Hathaway, who played almost four seasons with Ovechkin (2019-23). “Like doesn’t even matter, if he’s on the ice, if he’s on the bench, if he’s scoring them.”

“It’s his shot, his shot is so lethal,” added captain Sean Couturier. “He can score from everywhere. Usually, you try to take guys away from the middle of the ice, and you give them the outside; him, even from the outside, he can score from there — he can score from the corner probably, too.

“The puck just always finds a way to go through goalies like good goal scorers do, and he’s the best of all time. So always a tough opponent to play against.”

Sam Ersson will start in goal for the Flyers on Wednesday, and he has allowed three goals to Ovechkin in five games. The last one was fittingly No. 888 for Ovechkin, when he somewhat whiffed on the puck but still found the back of the net in Washington last March. As for the others, “one off a faceoff, they won it back, he shot it low glove,” Ersson said a year ago. “[And] a point shot was going 10 feet wide and hit [him] in the pants and goes in.

“He finds a way to score.”

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet played against Wayne Gretzky, who previously held the record for goals, and has coached against Ovechkin for years, notably as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the postseason. There are 18 skates on the ice, but only one Ovechkin — and it’s that faceoff play that the Flyers need to be cognizant of.

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“Off the faceoff, every team calls it ‘The Ovechkin,’ coming off the wall,” Tocchet said. “There’s a faceoff play named after him. … That’s a credit to him.

“When he comes off the wall, we have to be in lanes to block a shot. And then when you’re in the lane, he’s a smart guy, he’ll hit the weakside defenseman coming down low. So now you have to strategize for that. So there’s a lot of obstacles when you coach against Ovechkin.”

The Flyers enter Wednesday two points behind the Capitals, who are also trying to make the playoffs, and nine points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference. They are 10 points behind the Penguins and New York Islanders for the last two spots in the Metropolitan Division.

And while a win would help their cause, the Flyers are hoping to keep Ovechkin off the board one more time in Philly. But there’s nothing like facing the game’s greatest goal scorer.

“We got into it a couple times,” forward Travis Konecny recalled. “I don’t really like to remember the goals, not really.

“I would say the thing for me that stands out is last year, during that goal run, when he was trying to break the record, the last game we played against him before he hit the record, I got his stick from him. So that was pretty cool for me.”

Dan Vladař will serve as the backup. He has faced Ovechkin seven times, allowing three goals, including No. 883 when he was with the Calgary Flames. He has not allowed a goal against him this season in the two meetings.

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