812 goals. NINE 50 goal seasons. Eventual successor over Wayne Gretzky for most goals in NHL history (if you think Ovi isn’t catching Gretzky go find the nearest highway and play leapfrog on it). Scorer of arguably the most impressive goal in NHL history
When going over Alex Ovechkin’s most impressive feats, there are plenty to pick from. However the most impressive thing about The Great 8 might not be what he does on the ice, but what he does before stepping onto it. You see, Alex Ovechkin has arguably the most ridiculous pre-in-game diet in all of sports.
Athletes nowadays all seem to have these extremely strict workout and nutrition plans to be able to perform, and 99.9% of them don’t perform on Ovi’s level. Avoiding carbs, fast food, stuffing yourself with enough protein to make The Rock think you’re a try-hard. Not Ovi. This man does whatever the fuck he wants.
So how does this mutant of a man feed himself before a game? By consuming an absolute mountain of a pasta dish that will likely make most of you hit your calorie limit for the month in one sitting.
Not only does he consume this before home games for the Caps, if you’re in the building you know about it. Former teammate Brooks Orpik describes the whole ordeal below in a piece from the Players’ Tribute:
“We have a chef here who prepares our pregame meals. Ovi always orders the same thing — Mama Luccia, which is this pasta dish that’s like chicken parm with noodles, bread, cheese, the kind of thing you want to take a five-hour nap after eating. He makes a big display of it too. There’s no shame. It’ll be eleven in the morning, way before anyone is really thinking about eating lunch, and Ovi will walk into the dining area yelling, “Mama Luccia! Mama Luccia!” I don’t know. It’s weird, but it seems normal now.”
So this guy essentially takes down half the Olive Garden menu before the game, then proceeds to make the league call him daddy to the sweet tune of 50 goals a year. Meanwhile Tom Brady:
Does Ovi balance this all out by drinking nothing but hydrating organic juices during the game? Fuck no. His in game drink choices mirror that of a 14 year old staying up all night playing Xbox. While most of your favorite athletes are fueling their bodies with Gatorade, Body Armor, or whatever bs celebrity-backed sports drink we’re dealing with nowadays, Ovi is slamming sodas on the bench all game AFTER slamming multiple Red Bulls on the way to said game according to teammates such as former Capital Karl Alzner. Thanks to some investigating done by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, we know Ovechkin fills his water bottle with Pepsi for during the game and Dr. Pepper for intermission. You gotta stick to your routine if you’re gonna be the greatest goal scorer in the history of your sport.
We aren’t sure if Ovi still follows this EXTREMELY strict gameday regimen at the age of 37, but multiple sources such as teammates and reports have confirmed this was the Ovi way for most of his legendary career. Football fans can have the 7 Super Bowls from Tom Brady or ridiculous stats that Patrick Mahomes is putting up, I’ll take Ovi’s 812 goals on a heart attack diet as my most impressive athletic feat.
The Morning Skate 
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