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On Saturday, eight goals go up and he didn’t have a point, and then the next day, he explodes for three That’s what he does, and it makes everyone want to do the math on when it’s going to be. He’s just phenomenal. If the power play keeps humming along like it is, we’re going to be talking about history in just a couple weeks.”", '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm7js00nn0036357p5iq6uvjy@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'However, will it happen at home? The Caps have six of their final nine on the road and a lot of national games, so you never know.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm7js4apq003p357p72cxfgyw@published'}, {'data': {'text': "“With Alex, everything can shift, right? 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Joe Beninati on Alex Ovechkin's surge: 'For this guy, we should never be surprised'

By Lou DiPietro,

Lou DiPietro

Lou DiPietro is the Senior Content Producer for WFAN.com. Throughout his career, Lou has been part of coverage teams for the Stanley Cup Finals,…

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Grant & Danny

Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier are streaming live every weekday on Audacy. We talk Washington Football Team, Nationals, Capitals and Wizards, as…

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Feb 25, 2025

Joe Beninati did not get to call Alex Ovechkin’s hat trick yesterday because it was a national television broadcast, as was Saturday’s crushing of the Pens – but while Joe ‘saved my voice 15 times,’ he was watching both, and even now, continues to be marveled by The Great 8.

“It’s extraordinary stuff, and it's borderline superhuman stuff, and you just don't expect it from a 39-year-old,” Beninati told Grant & Danny Monday. “He’s 39 years old in body and there's a lot of miles on the tires, but In between the ears, he's still a very smart, offensively talented hockey player. He knows where to be on the ice, he finds the right space, and his shot is so overwhelmingly powerful and accurate, goalies have fits trying to stop it, and it’s never going to leave him. For this guy, we should never be surprised.”

And yet, Ovi only had three of the 15 goals scored over the weekend, so the Caps, who had no players involved in the 4 Nations Face-Off, have come out of a team-wide break of nearly two weeks firing on all cylinders.

“They look really good, and a lot of it has been ignited by the blue line guys. The back six were hugely instrumental in that win in Pittsburgh, and it just continued against Edmonton. They’re getting more production from the defense than you can recall in recent seasons,” Beninati said.
“A lot of that can be traced to Jakob Chychrun, who's been fabulous from cover to cover, and when they get rolling like that, when they have the diversity in the offense, it reminds me of the first two months of this season when they were outscoring any issues that they may have had. They’ve shown you they can win different ways, and that's why they're sitting on top of the NHL right now with the best record and point total.”

The Caps are legit Cup contenders, and it’s not like Ovechkin is chasing a single-season record, but with 25 games left in seven weeks and change, and 13 or 14 goals needed to tie or break the record, will Ovi continue this surge that has him at the highest goal rate of his career (2.4 goals per 60 minutes on ice) and put that honor in his pocket before they have to worry about chasing a Cup?

“His career shooting percentage is 13 percent, which means 87 percent of the time goalies make saves on him, and I don't know how they do it,” Beninati said. “(Sunday) was the kind of game where he could have had five or more goals, as he was looking up in the rafters a couple times blaming himself on not converting – and that’s in the midst of a hat trick. On Saturday, eight goals go up and he didn’t have a point, and then the next day, he explodes for three That’s what he does, and it makes everyone want to do the math on when it’s going to be. He’s just phenomenal. If the power play keeps humming along like it is, we’re going to be talking about history in just a couple weeks.”

However, will it happen at home? The Caps have six of their final nine on the road and a lot of national games, so you never know.

“With Alex, everything can shift, right? If we were talking about, an NBA point scoring record or Saquon Barkley challenging the rushing record in the NFL, I think that's a lot easier to project,” Beninati said. “It’s a moving target with hockey and the regularity with which you score goals, although this cat scores goals like nobody else's business. If you do the math, it tells you it could be the home game April 4 vs. Chicago, but there’s no guessing with this guy – and if it’s this year or early next year, great, and I’d love for it to fall on a home date, and one we’re broadcasting, but the networks took four April games for a reason. Either way, I hope the one that ties it and the one that breaks it are both great goals.”

Take a listen to Beninati’s entire visit, with a lot more in-depth talk on Ovechkin, above!

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