Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin continues to rewrite the record books in the National Hockey League — and The Great Eight reached a rare milestone in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
The 40-year-old, who recorded an assist on Connor McMichael's opening goal, became just the second active player to record 1,800 points in the regular-season and playoffs combined, per NHL Public Relations.
He's the 11th player to reach the milestone; the only other active player with more is Sidney Crosby, who ranks seventh on the all-time combined points list.
Ovechkin and Crosby will go down as two of the greatest players of all time, and it's incredible watching the pair play at this level, still, in 2025-26.
That being said, Ovechkin probably would have preferred if the achievement had come in winning fashion. The Capitals led the Hurricanes on two different occasions before eventually losing in a shootout.
Washington opened up a 1-0 lead on McMichael's tally five minutes into the second period, and took a 2-1 lead midway through the final frame when Nic Dowd beat Canes goalie Brandon Bussi.
But Logan Stankoven tied things up with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. Nothing was doing in the extra frame, so it took until a SO to decide a winner. The Caps are 0-4 in the minigame this season.
Capitals concede Metropolitan Division lead to Hurricanes
Both teams secured a point in the contest, but with the Hurricanes getting the extra one, the divisional rivals are now tied at the top of the Metropolitan with 40 points apiece.
Considering Carolina has a game in hand, they own the slimmest of leads heading into the weekend. The two powerhouses are likely to battle for the top of both the division and Eastern Conference throughout the season.
For Ovechkin and the Capitals, it's a disappointing result, but it's still been an excellent stretch for the team. Washington has won seven of 10 games, and the squad hasn't lost in regulation since November 22 — that's a nine-game point streak.
Star goaltender Logan Thompson has been a huge reason for the success, and he was excellent again on Thursday, making 37 saves on 39 shots.
“We were right there grinding it out all game,” Thompson said afterwards, per NHL.com's Harvey Valentine. “Just unfortunately couldn’t get two points tonight, but we’ll take the point and move on.”
Now 18-9-4 and fourth in NHL standings — behind only the Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche — the Capitals will look to get back in the win column over a short two-game road trip.
Washington will travel to Winnipeg to play the struggling Jets on Saturday before facing the Minnesota Wild in the State of Hockey on Tuesday.
