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Alex Ovechkin took the next step in his pursuit of hockey history Friday night, scoring his 801st and 802nd career goals to pass Gordie Howe for No. 2 on the all-time list the NHL
The landmark goal was an empty netter inside the blue line with 1:00 left in the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Arena. The home crowd erupted into a frenzy, then watched as the long-time captain celebrated with exuberant joy with his teammates on the ice. The Russian star’s first goal of the night came off a rush from the circle near the end of the first period.
“It’s very emotional,” Ovechkin said. “My parents saw it from home. My wife is here, the children are here, the friends are here. Doing it with the local audience is special. They give me all the support, and that’s pretty big. It’s a historic moment. It’s a pleasure to be in this category of players. It’s very good.”
The only name above Ovechkin’s now is that of “The Great One”: Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goals, once thought to be unreachable, now sit atop the mountain. And given that the 37-year-old Ovechkin’s scoring pace has barely slowed as he’s aged, it’s likely a matter of when, not if, No. 8 surpasses the legendary No. 99.
“It’s crazy to see, and it’s a huge amount, and it’s a huge achievement for his game, for his person and also for his family,” Capitals teammate Dmitry Orlov said . “The way he’s going now, it’s certainly amazing, and you hope he stays healthy, and another day, another milestone.”
Ovechkin’s no-look, empty-net goal came in somewhat comical fashion. After the Jets pulled their goaltender, David Rittich, with just under three minutes remaining, the home crowd chanted Ovechkin’s name. The crowd was ready for Capitals coach Peter Laviolette to put Ovechkin on the ice for an empty-net attempt, and the chants only got louder as the clock wound down.
Ovechkin took the ice with 1:42 left in the game and had a long shot attempt at the empty net that hit the post and went out. Moments later, with the Capitals in the offensive zone and the net open in front of him, Ovechkin passed it to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who quickly decided he didn’t want to shoot and instead passed it back to Ovechkin.
After that goal, only another human being in history has scored more NHL goals than Alex Ovechkin.
take a minute remember this 🙌 pic.twitter.com/8U5nzxNeaV
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 24, 2022
Laviolette said afterward that he and Ovechkin had a conversation before the game and decided he would give Ovechkin regular minutes if any empty opportunities presented themselves.
“It’s the type of situation where if you have an opportunity to get it, you take it,” Ovechkin said. “I give it to Kuzy, and he said, ‘I don’t want to take it.’ But after that, it’s special.”
Kuznetsov said: “I’ll probably feel bad if I score there and half the world will probably be so mad at me. You know, I have a lot of enemies … the reputation, whatever.”
Howe died in 2016 at the age of 88. Ovechkin met him at the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal. He said a signed photo of Ovechkin and Howe together in the locker room remains Ovechkin’s “most important thing” in his collection.
“Obviously Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky’s stick, Mario Lemieux’s stick… [the photo is] probably the top one,” he said.
Alex Ovechkin met Gordie Howe during the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal. #8 has a signed photo of him and Gordie from that time.
He called the photo “probably my best collection.” pic.twitter.com/3hvzBBppWw
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) December 19, 2022
In numbers 801 and 802 were Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya, and two sons, Sergei, 4, and Ilya, 2. All have been present for the last three home games in Washington, when Ovechkin had the his chances of catching Howe, but he could. t turn on the light.
On Friday, with all eyes on him, Ovechkin made sure he put on a show. Sergei and Ilya went to the Capitals locker room after the game and posed for photos while holding their father’s historic #801 and #802 records.
“You never thought it was going to happen when you came into the league, you’re going to beat any Gordie Howe record or Wayne Gretzky record or any record,” Ovechkin said. “You felt like, OK, maybe you’re going to play in the NHL and you’re going to be fine and you’re going to try to do your best, but the whole situation that’s going on now, it’s a miracle. You know, it’s pretty special.”
Ovechkin’s first goal Friday tied Howe’s record at 18:22 of the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. His wrist shot from the circle beat Rittich, the 166th goaltender Ovechkin has scored in his remarkable career.
Then the chase was on for a second.
“When you see what Alex does on a daily basis, I think anything is possible,” Laviolette said. “The way he plays. The way it marks. The way he shoots the puck. His love for the game. His passion and purpose for the game. Everything is possible.”
Ovechkin has scored nine goals in his last nine games. For the season, he has 22 goals in 36 games, a 50-goal pace. The Capitals struggled to start the year, but the captain has helped his injury-ravaged team stay afloat.
“Get back on track for another big year,” Laviolette said. “He’s in great shape. He obviously has great skill and talent at what he does. He loves the game. He has a passion and a purpose when he takes the ice. I think all of those things combined and the fact that he’s been able to play in a lot of games, all of that means he has the ability to play consistently.”
Teammates have long praised Ovechkin’s skills, but as he scored one legend after another during his march up the scoring charts, the appreciation reached a new level.
“Seven or eight years ago, no one was even talking about it, even though it was clearly on the same trajectory as it is now,” defenseman John Carlson said this month. “It went from ‘Maybe, a little bit’ to ‘Shit, that’s coming real soon.’ … You get to play with a guy for 13 years who has beaten these guys in the history books, and it’s pretty cool stuff.”
With No. 802 behind him, Ovechkin can take a moment to breathe. But expectations don’t end at #2.
“Everybody’s waiting for Gretzky’s record, and it’s not going to be easy,” Orlov said. “Everybody knows that, and so does he. It’s a lot of work and sometimes luck too. There’s a long way to go.”
Forward Anthony Mantha added: “I think once he’s number one, he can have a sense of relief. Until then, he’s in the hunt, and that’s what we like about him.”