The day is June 26th, 2004, it is the day of the NHL entry draft in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Washington Capitals have the first pick in the draft and with that pick, they will make a pick that has come to define the franchise for the last 15 years, they picked Russian LeftWinger, Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin has been the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the league ever since. Ovechkin’s unparallelled goal-scoring acumen and energetic style of play endeared him to fans. Even though Ovechkin is arguably the best goal scorer in NHL history, his road to a Stanley Cup has not been easy. His story is one of failure, disappointment, as well as massive success both individually and eventually team success as well.

The Alex Ovechkin story had to be pushed back a year because the 2004-05 NHL season was wiped out due to a lockout. During the lockout Ovechkin stayed in Russia, playing for his hometown team, Dynamo Moscow of the Russian hockey league, the KHL. When the NHL came back the next season, Ovi was ready to take the league by storm, but he was not alone; in Pittsburgh, an equally hyped phenom was ready for his first NHL season. His name is Sidney Crosby, he and Ovechkin will become the two biggest names in the hockey world for the next decade plus. Everything they accomplish will be compared to what the other did. The story of Ovechkin is intertwined with the story of Crosby.

In their first season, the burly Russian outshined the Canadian Wunderkind, winning the Rookie of the Year and getting All-NHL first team honors, besting Crosby in both categories. The pair each won MVP awards over the course of the two seasons, both reaching marvelous statistical heights. In the 2006-07 season, Crosby scored a jaw-dropping 120 points, a figure no player has reached ever since. The following season Ovechkin responded by scoring 65 goals, the most by any player since 1995-96 when Mario Lemieux scored 69.

In that 2007-08 season, both teams got a taste of the playoffs. Ovechkin’s Capitals lost in the first round in seven games, Crosby’s Penguins went all the way to the Stanley Cup final, where they ended up losing to a veteran Red Wings team in seven games. The next season, both teams were back and better than ever. The Penguins were led by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the man drafted directly after Ovechkin. Malkin actually led the league in scoring that season with 113 points, beating out Ovi by three points. They were led by four players, all of whom scored at least 70 points. Ovechkin led the way with 110 points, he was followed by Swedish playmaker Nicklas Backstrom, fellow Russian Alex Semin and star defenseman Mike Green each scored at least 70 points. Green’s season was particularly impressive, the star blueliner is the last NHL defenseman to score 30 goals in a season. The Penguins and Capitals were on a collision course to meet in the second round of the playoffs that season. When they did, it was a hard fought seven game series, but Crosby’s Penguins ultimately prevailed. The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup that season, giving Crosby his first cup.

The next season it looked like Ovechkin would tie Crosby in the cup category. The Caps looked unstoppable, Ovechkin and Backstrom each scored over 100 points leading the Caps to a historic season. That historic success would not lead to playoff victory though, the Caps got stunned in the first round by a Montreal Canadiens team they were supposed to steamroll. For the next few years, the Capitals lost in the second round and the Penguins toiled in mediocrity with a hurt Crosby.

Things changed in the 2015-16 season though, both the Caps and the Pens were back and better than ever. The Capitals had a ‘two-year window’ in which they would go all in to win a Stanley Cup. They would surround Ovechkin and Backstrom with as much talent as possible. In net, they had stud Braden Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy for best goalie in 2015-16, at defense they had a reliable number one D-man in John Carlson and they surrounded Ovechkin and Backstrom with solid forward depth, including Evgeny Kuznetsov and TJ Oshie. The 2015-16 season was the year to win the cup. Unfortunately for the Caps, the Penguins were also entering a window to win the cup. After multiple concussion filled seasons, Sidney Crosby was finally back to 100%. The Capitals and Penguins would meet again, for the first time since that 2008-09 season. Even though it was a new year, the results were the same. Crosby and the Penguins would beat the Caps en route to a second Stanley Cup.

At this point, people were starting to question if Ovechkin would be able to ever lead a team to a Stanley Cup. He was on the wrong side of 30 and seemed to be on the decline. People said he was selfish, a loser, a choke artist, and he hadn’t proven those people wrong. The next season, the Caps had another stellar regular season, but Ovechkin looked to be in decline, scoring only 33 goals and 69 points, which are solid numbers but not for a player of Ovechkin’s caliber. It was a far cry from the 65 goals he scored earlier in his career. Despite this, they were the best team in the regular season for the second straight season. For a second straight year, the Caps ran into the Penguins in the second round. The Pens looked more vulnerable this year though, much of their depth, especially on defense was hurt. Despite this, they beat the Caps again, this time in a hard-fought seven-game series and again they went on to win the Stanley Cup and again Crosby won playoff MVP. This Crosby vs Ovechkin rivalry was shaping up to be one of the most one-sided rivalries ever.

The anti-Ovechkin media people were getting really loud now. They were saying he was done, they were saying he was a bad leader, they were saying he was all flash no substance. The ‘two-year window’ had closed, much of the Capitals quality depth players were either going to leave or get substantial pay raises. Many familiar faces such as solid depth forward Marcus Johansson were gone due to salary cap constraints. It looked to be downhill from here for the Caps. Some people questioned if they were even going to make the playoffs.

Ovechkin was on a mission though, he scored 49 goals and 87 points, a point total that he hadn’t touched since the 2009-10 season. He scored the most goals in the league for the seventh time in his career, but a Rocket Richard trophy was about as valuable as a Grammy at this point. The playoffs were all that mattered.

The playoff got off to a rough start, the Caps lost their first two home games of the playoffs to the Columbus Blue Jackets, falling to a 2-0 deficit. Holtby, who had a bad regular season didn’t even start the first two games. The Caps rallied back and won the next four games, taking the series four games to two. In the second round, they played the Penguins, because of course, they did. Nobody gave the Caps a chance, they thought it would be the same as every other year, that history would repeat itself. The Caps won three of the first five games though, setting up a game six matchup in Pittsburgh, where the Caps could exercise all of their past demons. The game was a grind, three periods was not enough to decide this game, it went to overtime. In overtime, Crosby turned over the puck to Ovechkin, who threaded the needle with a beautiful pass to the streaking Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov scores a breakaway goal and breaks out his trademark bird celebration. The Capitals had done it, they had slayed the dragon, they had exercised the demons, they have finally beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff series. They went on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in a grueling seven-game series and dispatched the upstart Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Ovechkin won playoff MVP and the team went on a month-long bender to celebrate the victory. The pain had made the joy even more beautiful.