Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scores twice, now No. 5 all time on NHL career goals list
Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals star, scored twice in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on January 13th. This now puts him at 5th all time for career goals in NHL history.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday night, Alex Ovechkin went from being a game-time decision to creating more NHL history.
The Washington Capitals forward scored twice in a 5-1 win against the New York Rangers, giving him 732 goals in 1,198 games. With those goals, he passed Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne for sixth place all-time in NHL career goals.
“I just take pleasure in my time. Of course, being on that list is a great honor, but as I always say: game by game, day by day “Ovechkin said.
With a lower-body injury suffered in the Capitals’ preseason finale, the 36-year-old captain was listed as doubtful for the team’s home opener. However, Ovechkin took part in a complete session on Wednesday, boosting his chances of playing.
“It’s not the best week for him to be preparing for his big night. There were a lot of unanswered questions [about his health]. This morning, there were still some unanswered questions “Peter Laviolette, the Capitals’ coach, stated as much. “He got right into the game and was a big part of it.”
Laviolette made NHL history by becoming the first American-born head coach to win 674 games, overtaking John Tortorella for the most victories by an American-born head coach.
On the power play, Ovechkin scored his first goal at 2:37 of the third stanza. As a ball bounced off of Capitals forward Anthony Mantha’s chest and dropped to the ice, he drove to the Rangers’ goal. Ovechkin tied Dionne with his first goal of the season, sending the ball past goalkeeper Alexandar Georgiev.
He now has 270 career power-play goals, second only to Dave Andreychuk (274) in NHL history.
His second goal came on the power play. He raced by K’Andre Miller of the Rangers and flicked the ball past Georgiev on his backhand for goal No. 732.
The display at Capital One Arena showed Ovechkin rising up the leaderboard during the next break of play, and a video message from Dionne congratulated Ovechkin on “your amazing accomplishment,” adding, “I knew you were going to overtake me.”
The audience erupted in applause, as Ovechkin saluted them from the bench.
The goals brought Ovechkin closer to his ultimate objective of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals.
With 741 goals, Ovechkin is second only to Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull on the list of Ovechkin’s top scorers.
Hendrix Lapierre, then nineteen years old, had the pleasure of scoring his first NHL goal on the same night that Alex Ovechkin, one of his childhood heroes, scored goal No. 732.
“On television, you see a lot of things. You used to watch him play as a kid. But seeing it in action, seeing the many ways he scores goals, it’s really amazing “According to Lapierre. “He was a spur-of-the-moment choice. He enters the game and immediately scores two goals. There’s a reason he’s the greatest goal scorer of all time. His joy was palpable, as was the fire in his eyes. You can see he’s after that objective.”
During his 414 regular-season games with the Capitals, winger T.J. Oshie has seen his fair share of Ovechkin’s goals.
“You take it for granted how often he scores. I saw the amount of goals, and I believe it’s been a long since I glanced up and saw the exact number he was on “Oshie said.
“That’s a lot of objectives. There are a number of guys who have never played that many games. It never gets old. Being there on these anniversaries is really unique. I tell him I’m going to tell my grandchildren that I used to play with ‘The Great 8.’ It’s a pleasure to be here as he honors these giants of our sport.”
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored twice in his team’s game on Thursday night, moving him into fifth place all time on the NHL career goals list. Reference: wayne gretzky goals.
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