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Ovechkin two assists from becoming Washington's all-time leader in that category too

In his announced final NHL season, Alex Ovechkin needs just two more assists to pass Nicklas Backstrom and own every major scoring record in Capitals history. He gets his next shot Saturday afternoon against Florida.

In his last season, Ovi is two assists from owning every major scoring record in Capitals history

Alex Ovechkin already holds the NHL's all-time goals record. He already has more points in a Washington Capitals uniform than anyone who ever played there. On Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena, he has a chance to close the final gap in the franchise record book: two assists separate him from passing Nicklas Backstrom to become Washington's all-time leader in that category as well.

According to the Capitals' own milestone tracker, Ovechkin is two assists shy of passing Backstrom's franchise record of 762 to become the all-time assists leader in team history. He also sits nine points shy of 1,700 career points and 10 goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky for the most combined regular-season and playoff goals in NHL history.

The number that matters most Saturday is the assists one. Ovechkin is off to a slow start with four points in 13 games this season. He already holds team records for goals and points. Backstrom's 762 career helpers, earned over 15 seasons in D.C., have stood as the franchise's assist record for years. If Ovechkin gets there, he will own goals, assists, and points in Capitals franchise history, all at once, in what he has said is his last year of professional hockey.

The feat would make him the fourth player born outside of North America to lead a franchise in all three major scoring categories, joining Aleksander Barkov with Florida, Patrik Elias with New Jersey, and Daniel Alfredsson with Ottawa.

The game itself carries its own weight. Ovechkin hasn't recorded a point in six straight games, and Washington, sitting at 8-6-0, looks to rebound from losing two in a row after Tuesday's 6-5 defeat to the Dallas Stars. That Dallas loss got out of hand early when Jason Robertson recorded a natural hat trick in a span of less than six minutes in the second period, putting the Capitals in a 4-0 hole and sending goalie Logan Thompson to the bench for just the second time in 110 starts across his three seasons in Washington.

Saturday's opponent, the Florida Panthers, comes to Capital One Arena for a 12:30 p.m. ET puck drop airing on Scripps, Monumental Sports Network, and Sportsnet. Florida is not an easy mark. Carter Verhaeghe enters with a five-game point streak of three goals and four assists. Sam Reinhart leads the team up front.

What makes this particular milestone chase worth tracking beyond any scoreboard: Ovechkin announced this season, 21 years to the day after making his NHL debut, that the 2026-27 campaign will be his last. Every game at Capital One Arena this year carries a countdown quality that did not exist before. The assists record is the last one left to claim inside the building he has called home for more than two decades.

Washington has not been playing its best hockey. No NHL team has played more home games than the Capitals, and Washington is the only team that has played just four road games to this point of the season, which means the schedule has been unusually kind in terms of geography, but results have not followed. Two straight home losses have flattened a momentum that looked real just one week ago.

For Ovechkin, the math is simple and the runway is finite. Two assists. One game. The Capitals launched a season-long campaign around Ovechkin's final year supporting causes meaningful to him, with new initiatives announced on the eighth of each month. The hockey itself, though, is the reason 18,000-plus people will pack the arena on a Saturday morning and watch No. 8 set up a teammate and, quietly, make history one more time.

Meanwhile: the Commanders' receiver room keeps shrinking

Across town, the other major development from Friday is a lot less celebratory. The Washington Commanders ruled out wide receivers Dyami Brown and Treylon Burks for their Week 9 game against the Los Angeles Rams. Burks did not practice all week with a foot injury, while Brown tweaked his calf during Thursday's practice and did not participate Friday.

On the Sports Junkies Friday, general manager Adam Peters said things didn't "look great" for Brown. That is not a ringing endorsement of a quick return. Brown hasn't been heavily involved in Washington's passing game this season, but he's considered an integral part of the offense because of his ability to win deep and because he's the team's best blocking wide receiver.

Burks had been ramping up his production this season with 12 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns, including 81 yards against the Eagles on November 1. He was on track to be Jayden Daniels' most reliable weapon going into Sunday's game before the foot flared up again.

NFL Network reported that Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett is expected to be activated off injured reserve for Sunday's game, which adds another dimension to what is already a rough situation for a Washington offensive line protecting a quarterback still listed with a Week 2 elbow dislocation. Both Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams are expected to have bigger roles against the Rams' secondary. The Commanders also have Van Jefferson, who impressed in training camp, and undrafted rookie Jaden Bradley.

Washington heads into Sunday at 2-4-1 on the season. The Rams game, originally circled as a measuring-stick test for a team that beat Philadelphia 27-10 last week, now looks like a true depth exam with no Terry McLaurin, no Burks, and no Brown available. Jefferson, Bradley, and Williams will get the snaps. Dan Quinn called it an opportunity.

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