"I wish Ovechkin to break Gretzky's record as early as this season."

Former teammate Dmitry Orlov wished his friend Alexander Ovechkin a speedy recovery from injury and good luck in the race for Gretzky's record. In an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express, the Carolina defenseman and Stanley Cup winner talked about his relationship with the Washington captain on and off the field, noted the successes of Bobrovsky and Tarasenko, and recalled working with recently fired Boston coach Jim Montgomery.

"Ovechkin is an NHL legend, it's always a pleasure to watch him play"

- You recently did a double-double against your former team, the Washington Capitals. Did Ovechkin congratulate you on your goal after the game, or is an opponent an opponent, "don't stand in the way"?

- There were a couple of phrases during the game, ha-ha! But they will remain between us. In fact, he was happy for me, as I was for him. Especially now he's trying to catch up and overtake Gretzky, and I also had a lot to congratulate him. For example, when he made his 700th pass in the regular season and became, I think, only the sixth player in NHL history with 700+700. And that shows that he's not only a sniper, but he's also a great passer. Sasha is a legend in this league, it's always a pleasure to watch him play.

- He had a lot of great assists both this season and last season. People, in my opinion, greatly underestimate that skill of his.

- He's always been a great passer, it's just that people are more focused on goals. But statistics is a stubborn thing, it shows everything.

- In the spring I talked to Nastya, Ovechkin's wife, and she said about your exchange from Washington: "It was a difficult moment for us, because we are very friendly and they are missing. When I arrived, they were already here. Varya, Dima's wife, is the godmother of our son Sergei." So you and Ovechkin are not just friends, but relatives!

- Yes, we are. That's also why it was hard to move to another NHL club for the first time in your life after 12 years in Washington. Not only us, but our wives are friends. The Ovechkins and I were neighbors in Washington, we had our houses next to each other. But that's the way it worked out. The most important thing is that we are still friends, socializing and supporting each other.

- What is Ovechkin like with his family, off the ice? What does he like to discuss most of all, besides hockey?

- Let our conversations better stay at our table. It's always nice to see each other. We have a lot to remember - matches, feasts, a lot of things. We had a lot of good moments and I'm sure there will be more!

When I first started in the NHL, Sasha told me a phrase that he, in turn, heard from veterans when he came to the league: "Time flies, and you have to appreciate every day. Now I realize how right he was. Every year flies by quickly, and you have to try to cherish every minute you have here and make it happy. This is my 14th season in the NHL, and I want to have as many as possible!

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Ovechkin flies for the record, Michkov rushes for the prize

- Have you heard from each other since Ovechkin's injury yesterday in Utah?

- I watched the game, saw how it happened. And after the game I wrote to Sasha and asked how he was. The answer, of course, I won't pass on, it's all between us. There is official information, I will not add anything to it.

- The club announced on social networks that he will miss "a few weeks".

- The main thing is for Sasha to recover as quickly as possible and return to the ice.

- Were you amazed that at 39 years old, with 15 goals in 18 games, he led the race for Maurice Richard? How is that possible!!!

- Sasha can do it all and has been doing it for 20 years in the league! Under any pressure, he is always confident in his abilities - and even when something doesn't work out, like in the first half of last season, he returns to his level. He has always found and still finds the strength to score goals, pick up points and lead the team at the right time. So I'm not surprised. He is good. I wish him to break Gretzky's record already this season and to do well!

- I daresay: if you say so, it means that the injury is not that serious!

- I'm not going to comment. Just to reiterate: I wish him to break the record and be healthy! He always plays for the team and sacrifices himself, for which everyone appreciates him, not only for the number of goals. A true leader.

- Your former head coach Barry Trotz thinks that Ovechkin can overtake Gretzky this season, but that the last ten goals will be especially hard for him because the opponents will play even tighter. Do things like record-breaking goals get them excited, too?

- Probably, yes. Teams will guard him more, realizing that there will be more passes to Sasha. There's logic in Barry's words.

"Glad for Bobrovsky's countryman and childhood friend Tarasenko."

- Another operative topic - Boston head coach Jim Montgomery, with whom you have successfully worked, was just fired.

- Both before me and under me, Boston had a very good team, took the President's Cup, broke all records. I liked Montgomery very much both as a man and as a coach. I was surprised to see him fired, it's a shame it happened. I even texted him, wished him luck. He replied to me. I hope he will find a new job soon.

I think he's a great specialist, he understands hockey. In the short time I was in Boston, I thought he gave the team a lot. Unfortunately, we didn't make it past the first round, even though we had everything we needed. The team was great, a lot of skill, understanding of how to play. But things don't always work out the way we would like them to. The more I appreciate that Cup win, which was in 2018 with Washington.

- What happened in that playoff series with Florida? "Boston lost it while winning 3-1.

- It's hard to find one reason. We're all at fault, we're all one team. We're not an individual sport. Different factors came into play - injuries, lack of luck ... Of course, it was a shame to give up the series like that. I think that after that round Florida believed in themselves, first reached the Stanley Cup Final, and then won it a year later. You can see that they've developed a winning culture on their team. A lot of guys left the Panthers this summer, just like we had in Carolina, but they're still playing great this season. Obviously, that's thanks to Serega Bobrovsky.

- Your countryman.

- Yes, of course! I was very happy for Seryoga - and not just because he's from Novokuznetsk, but because I know how he went about it. He was and still is one of the best goalies in the league. Two Vezina's - and, God willing, there will be more.

- Were you rooting for him in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between Florida and Edmonton?

- Well, of course I wanted Seryoga to win! Especially for the second time in the finals and it's unknown how his career will turn out. So I was for him. And for Volodya Tarasenko, my childhood friend, with whom we still have the same relationship as we once did. Just a couple of hours ago we called him, talked, asked how each other were doing.

The hockey world is like that - we all communicate and try to support each other. You can imagine how difficult it was for them and Florida in general when, leading 3-0 in the series, they lost the next three games of the finals. What kind of psychological pressure that is. But they withstood it and won.

- Did you celebrate his victory with your fellow countryman Bobrovsky?

- In the summer I celebrated my birthday, called Serega, he came. I was very happy to see him. And, of course, I congratulated him on the achievement he had been working towards all his life.

- Was it in Novokuznetsk, for whom Bob's Stanley Cup was the second in history after yours?

- No. I was home at the beginning of my vacation, as always. And I celebrated my birthday in Moscow. That's where we met.