‘It was difficult for Sasha’: The physical grind and mental pressure of Alex Ovechkin’s NHL goals record chase

From the outside, Alex Ovechkin broke the NHL goals record with relative ease during the 2024-25 season, scoring 44 goals in 65 games and posting his fifth-best goals-per-game mark of his career (0.68). But behind the scenes, Ovechkin admitted that he felt the enormity of what he was trying to accomplish, especially when he experienced