WASHINGTON -- In the last home opener of Alex Ovechkin's NHL career, the Washington Capitals' captain took in the moment -- with the help of his two sons.
Ilya and Sergei Ovechkin were given the microphone to announce their father in player introductions Wednesday, setting the stage for a 5-3 Washington win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I was talking to one of my kids about it before that, and he was nervous as well," Ovechkin said. "I said don't be nervous, just say it. And it was pretty cool."
The 41-year-old said he hopes this will be a season of "awesome memories" after announcing this week he would be retiring after the season. But it comes at a time when his role with the Capitals is changing, to a more complementary one.
Ovechkin, who was held without a point, took only three shifts in the third period. He also wasn't on the ice for an empty-net situation at the end of the game, despite the Capitals nursing a two-goal lead.
Washington flexed its depth Wednesday, after a splashy offseason brought plenty of new faces to prepare for a post-Ovechkin era.
"I'm not going to say [Ovechkin] doesn't want to be out there, but he is also understanding of what we're trying to accomplish as a team and the great players that he has around him," coach Spencer Carbery said. "Anytime I explain, here's why we're doing it, and here's the reason behind it, and here's why this is going to help our team, he's like, 'I'm all in.'"
The Capitals want to do everything they can to send their franchise legend off with another Stanley Cup.
"It's been such an incredible journey. It's cool to see his kids down there and have them coming out on the ice and obviously he's a legend of the city," longtime teammate Tom Wilson said. "So I think everyone had a big smile, you get chills watching him come out. You just got to try and soak it all in."
The night was tougher for Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who was a minus-4, his worst single game plus/minus game against the Capitals in his career.
Wednesday marked the 101st meeting involving Crosby and Ovechkin, including 25 playoff games. Their teams have met in four postseason series, with the winner going on to capture the Stanley Cup each time (Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017, Washington in 2018).
Both captains joined Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Stan Mikita and Steve Yzerman as the only players in NHL history to play 22 seasons with one franchise.
But this season marks a massive transition.
The first matchup between Crosby and Ovechkin was on Nov. 22, 2005. That was before three players in Wednesday's lineup -- Pittsburgh's Ben Kindel, and Washington's Cole Hutson and Ilya Protas -- were born.
The longtime rivals have both spoken about a friendship that grew organically over time. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin gifted Ovechkin a watch after he broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record last season. On Wednesday, Crosby and Ovechkin posed for a photo during warmups.
Ovechkin, a known memorabilia collector, said he planned to do an equipment swap with Crosby at some point this season.
"I will think about it and me and him are going to text, what he wants and what I want," Ovechkin said. "But for sure I'll keep something from him."