The Capitals captain enters the final part of the season just 16 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Going into the back half of the 2024-25 season, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is all in.

The 39-year-old was in high spirits as he and his teammates returned to MedStar Capitals Iceplex for practice following the 4 Nations break, and said he's feeling refreshed and looking forward to a busy second half.

"I think everybody was kind of like tired (before break), lots of hockey, lots of practice, and now you kind of restart your brain and get ready for the second half and most important, for playoffs," Ovechkin said.

Last year, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin spent his All-Star Break in Dubai, riding camels and getting in some rest with his family.

This time around, he elected to remain in the United States, and while he also got some vacation time in, he also spent time in the gym and on the ice working with former NHLer Darius Kasparaitis.

For Ovechkin, it was important to get on the ice for some work during the time away, especially when it comes to continuing to rehabilitate and recover after breaking his left fibula back in November.

"I don't skate much during that break, and it was kind of hard to me for coming back on the ice, you know?" Ovechkin said. "I don't want to lose that touch, lose that skating ability, so it was nice (to skate over break)."

Ovechkin enters the final stretch just 16 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. While he said the record is not on his mind at all, the effort he's putting in going into the spring speaks volumes about his mentality going forward.

"Being down in Florida (was) purposeful, right? He could have vacationed and gone halfway across the world," coach Spencer Carbery said. "But coming back from the injury and wanting to stay state-side and sort of make sure that he was looking after himself and getting ready for this last final push, if it tells me anything, it tells me that... O's really serious about putting himself (in a good spot)."

"I should've gone with him (to Miami) for the break," Tom Wilson joked. "We spent our break three or four years ago together and he always seems to be flying. It just shows you how much this all means to him right now... he looked great today." 

Still, Ovechkin's not getting ahead of himself.

"It's still 20-something games left; we can't look forward too far, you know?" Ovechkin said. "We just gonna take it game by game, and it's nice to be back and fresh."