Welcome to Michael’s Musings. Michael Lindenbaum of TXHT Hockey will be doing a weekly article where he weighs in on various topics around both the NHL and PWHL.
The Last Dance for Ovechkin
On Monday, the hockey world was surprised by the announcement that Alexander Ovechkin would be retiring at the end of the 2026-27 season. While many of us weren’t surprised by the announcement itself, the timing of it caught a lot of us off guard.
When Ovechkin made the announcement, first to his teammates and then publicly, it brought to the forefront what everyone knew was eventually going to come: the end of an era.
As someone who has watched Ovechkin throughout his entire career and has had the opportunity to see him in person, from his rookie season to today, you can’t help but be in awe of what he has meant to Washington, D.C.
From seeing Ovechkin score his first goal against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the then-MCI Center during his rookie season, to watching him score goals 894 and 900 and hearing the deafening roar of the fans at Capital One Arena, it has been an incredible ride.
It will be fun to watch Ovechkin play his final season here in the Nation’s Capital and see what he has in store for his last hurrah.
PWHL Schedule and Conferences
On October 2, the PWHL announced its 2026-27 regular-season schedule, which will feature 180 games, with all 12 teams playing 30 games each.
New for the 2026-27 season will be the introduction of two six-team conferences. The Eastern Conference will feature the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres, while the Western Conference will feature PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, Seattle Torrent, and Vancouver Goldeneyes.
With the new conferences, each team will play 18 conference games and 12 interconference games. The interconference schedule will ensure that every team visits the primary or secondary home venue of all 12 teams.
Lastly, the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs—finally being called what they should have been called from day one—will expand to eight teams, with four teams from each conference qualifying. The playoffs will also expand to three rounds.
Igor Scores
Lastly, the opening week of the 2026-27 NHL season featured a goalie goal just three days into the season, as Igor Shesterkin scored his first career NHL goal and the first in New York Rangers franchise history. In his next game, Shesterkin recorded an assist to extend his point streak to two games, which, to my recollection, is a first for an NHL goaltender. It was just very exciting to see it happen.
Also, stick taps to the NHL for interviewing Ron Hextall about Shesterkin’s goal, especially considering the inspiration Hextall provided to goaltenders when it comes to stickhandling and scoring from 200 feet away.
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Home › Forums › Michael’s Musings: Ovechkin, Igor And PWHL
Tagged: nhl, PWHL