The old man still has it.
Alex Ovechkin, at age 38 and in his 19th NHL season, is still scoring goals and remains a threat to wreck a game — and maybe an entire playoff series — for the opposition.
That gives the Capitals at least a puncher’s chance as heavy underdogs against the Rangers when the teams meet in Game 1 of the opening round at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Garden.
“I remember watching him growing up; he’s always been a mammoth of a guy that can run through guys and also open it up and beat you one-on-one and put a puck right past you,’’ Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider told The Post. “He plays a hard game and a powerful game. We have a challenge with him for sure.
“Putting up 30 goals and doing what he does at his age is unbelievable, It just goes to show how much of a generational talent he is and that he’s still got it.’’
Ovechkin is second in all-time NHL goals with 853 and is 41 behind Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894. Yet, he looked like he was close to finished earlier this season.
The player who entered this season having scored 30 or more goals in his first 18 seasons scored just eight goals in Washington’s first 43 games.
He would go on to score 22 goals in the Caps’ final 35 games — fifth-most among NHL players since Jan. 29 — to finish with 31 goals and set the record for most 30-goal seasons at 18. He was a catalyst in the Capitals’ late-season rush to a playoff berth.
“His play in the last three months has been amazing,’’ Ovechkin’s teammate T.J. Oshie told Washington reporters during the week. “We drive through No. 8, and if he’s buzzing, we’re buzzing. He pulls us into the fight.”
Ovechkin’s 72 goals in 147 playoff games are second among active players, one behind Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski, who has 73 in 182 games. Ovechkin has 13 goals and 10 assists in 33 career playoff games against the Rangers entering this series.
“For sure, he’s still got it,’’ Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. “In the second half of the year, he was on fire. It’s incredibly difficult to deal with him. He’s so big, so hard on the forecheck, hard to win puck battles against.
“Obviously, anytime he’s open and can get a shot away it’s a dangerous shot. He’s definitely one of the toughest guys in the league to play against.’’
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin said, “I need to be ready for his chances. I need to be ready for his shot.’’
Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller, like anyone you ask about Ovechkin, talks first about the Russian’s shot, which has been, and still is, among the deadliest in the game.
“Everybody in this locker room grew up watching ‘Ovi,’ ’’ Miller told The Post. “To have that type of consistency through a number of years like that and be dominant at what you do is really cool. I look up to him and people like that in a sense that he’s grinding every year to get better and do whatever he can to get the team a win.’’
Mika Zibanejad, one of the Rangers’ top goal scorers with 26 this season, marveled at what Ovechkin has been able to do in his career with opposing teams keying on him.
“You look at the power play and you know where he’s at, you know where he’s going to be, you know where he’s scoring his goal from … and he still scores,’’ Zibanejad told The Post.
“This was allegedly a down year for him and he had 31 goals,’’ Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey marveled.
“His shot is one of the best in the league — maybe ever,’’ Vincent Trocheck, a 25-goal scorer this season for the Rangers, said. “It’s pretty amazing he’s been doing it for how many years — 18? — and to be able to continue to put up the numbers he does.’’
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette coached Ovechkin in the previous three seasons with Washington and has the unique perspective of having to deal with him as an opponent and on his own team.
“He’s a competitor and he plays a physical game, but his ability to score goals is a level that not many can reach,’’ Laviolette said. “He loves the game. Sometimes, you don’t see that [in players], but you see it in him on a daily basis.’’
Ovechkin’s love for the game was tested most and was most evident this season after the Capitals went into rebuilding mode and traded away key players for draft picks around the trade deadline.
That’s when Ovechkin began to play his best hockey of the season.
“He wants to win so badly,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery told reporters. “The way he handled [the trades] I think is the impressive thing to watch. He worked just as hard and competed and was bought-in even maybe more so post-deadline than pre-. Even when the outlook didn’t look great, he never gave up hope, belief or started to make it about him.”
