Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL regular-season goals record by scoring the 894th of his career.
Ovechkin scored his second goal of the Washington Capitals’ game Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks on the power play with 13:46 left in the third period. And he did so with Gretzky in attendance for the first time during this chase. The Capitals defeated the Blackhawks 5-3.
Earlier, he got his 893rd to move one away from tying and two from breaking Gretzky’s mark that long seemed unapproachable. The 39-year-old Russian superstar is now one away from breaking it with six games left to play this season.
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On his first of the night, Ovechkin beat Spencer Knight 3:52 in, taking a pass from Dylan Strome behind the net and banking the puck off the far post and the goaltender’s back and in.
After a few seconds, Ovechkin’s personal goal song, “Shake, Rattle & Roll” by Big Joe Turner,” started blaring from arena speakers as mascot Slapshot flipped the counter in one corner from 892 to 893. Fans chanted, “Ovi! Ovi!” before and after play resumed.
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Scoring in a fourth consecutive game, Ovechkin reached 40 goals for a 14th time in 20 seasons, which is the most in league history. With his second, he is at 41.
And while Ovechkin has tied Gretzky’s goals mark, no one will likely touch Gretzky’s record of 1,963 assists and 2,857 total points. If Gretzky had never scored a single goal in his entire career, he would still be the NHL all-time leader in points since goals and assists both count as one point in hockey.
