Ovechkin: 'It's been an honor' to battle Fleury throughout career

Alex Ovechkin had nothing but praise for Marc-Andre Fleury after the Washington Capitals' loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Ovechkin met Fleury, the goalie he's played most throughout his NHL career, at centre ice for a handshake following their final regular-season meeting before the latter retires. He also rallied his teammates to give the netminder a proper sendoff. The two future Hall of Famers faced each other 47 times over 20 seasons and can only meet again if their teams reach the Stanley Cup Final.

"It's almost 20 years that we play against each other," Ovechkin said, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "Pittsburgh, Vegas, it's been an honor to play against him."

Ovechkin didn't score Thursday, and Fleury served as backup. The Capitals' sniper has beat Fleury more times than any of the 182 goalies he's scored on, registering 27 goals against him. The majority of those tallies came during Fleury's 13-year run with the Penguins, a span that included three playoff series against the Capitals.

Ovechkin also beat Fleury in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final after the goaltender moved to the Golden Knights.

"I feel lucky I got to play so many games against him," Fleury said prior to the game. "Maybe not getting scored on so much by him, but it was a good battle. It was good times. Fun. That's what hockey’s all about."

Fleury said earlier this week he believes Ovechkin will break the all-time goal record this season. He's six tallies away from passing Wayne Gretzky with 10 games remaining.