It’s done: Alexander Ovechkin passed the legendary Gordie Howe to take sole second place in National Hockey League (NHL) history by scoring the 801st and 802nd goals of his career on Friday night , in a game against the Winnipeg Jets.
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The Russian has hit the target for the first time in his last five games. On December 13, he had reached the 800 goals plateau with a hat trick, and since then he had not scored. It is thus a beautiful Christmas present that the captain of the Washington Capitals offered himself.
“It’s great to have matched him, it’s very special. […] My family, my father and my mother are watching the game in Moscow. My wife and children are here tonight. To be able to score this goal in front of our fans is even more special,” he said during the first intermission at the microphone of NBC Sports Washington.
Ovechkin accepted a pass to the back from Dylan Strome inbounds, with 1:38 left in the first period. His wrist shot then went under the arm of goalkeeper David Rittich, who already looked better.
The 37-year-old veteran even edged out “Mr. Hockey” at the very end of the meeting by threading the needle in a deserted cage.
These were the 21st and 22nd goals of the season for “Ovi”, which has 802 in 1310 games. Only one man now stands between him and the all-time record: Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin still has a long way to go before he gets to the height of the “Marvel” and his 894 successes.
Capitals win easily
After the opening of the score by the hero of the day, the Capitals sailed without too much difficulty towards a victory of 4 to 1 on the Jets.
Ovechkin added an assist as he aided in the net for Sonny Milano in the second period. Nic Dowd tripled the “Caps” lead by completing a nice play with Garnet Hathaway.
The evening was much less happy for John Carlson, who received a slap shot in the face early in the third period. The icy surface was stained with the blood of the star defender, who was forced to retreat to the locker room. He did not return to the rink afterwards.
Kevin Stenlund finally got the visitors on the scoresheet midway through the third period. Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren didn’t give much to the Jets, who ran into him 25 times.
By scoring his 802nd goal in the National Hockey League (NHL) on Friday, Alex Ovechkin edged one more legend in the scoring column, Gordie Howe. One of his sons, Mark, wanted to deliver a short message to the captain of the Washington Capitals.
“I speak on behalf of Gordie Howe, the guy you just passed, and the rest of the Howe family. We want to congratulate you on this incredible accomplishment. […] You represent everything my father and my mother would be proud of, and if they had always been there, they would have been at this game and would have been the first to congratulate you”, indicated in a video shared by the Capitals the youngest son of “Mr. Hockey”.
Mark Howe also had a great career in the NHL, being one of the best defensemen of the 1980s with the Philadelphia Flyers. The 67-year-old concluded his career in 1994-95 with the Detroit Red Wings, the team where his father wrote his legend.
“I had the opportunity to see you so often as a scout, added Mark Howe, still addressing Ovechkin. It’s always been a pleasure to watch you. You are one of the very few players for me who brings that “wow” factor. You fill fans with happiness.”
The Saskatchewan native played 25 seasons with the Wings between 1946 and 1971, before retiring for the first time. He returned to play with the World Hockey Association and made his final NHL run in 1979-80 with the Hartford Whalers.
Howe finished his run with 801 goals, 1,049 assists and 1,850 points in 1,767 games.
The former number 9 died in June 2016 at the age of 88.
