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Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal in the third period of the team's 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, and he is just 10 goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky's mark of 894 for the NHL record.
“Great job on the faceoff. Great battle. Puck came to me and I put it in,” Alex Ovechkin said, via ESPN.
Ovechkin has scored 32 goals in just 46 games so far this season and is on pace to break Gretzky's record in early April, according to ESPN. After the win over the Rangers, the Capitals have 20 games left on the season. Ovechkin has that amount of time to score 10 goals.
The Capitals have been utilizing Ovechkin in empty net situations, which helps on top of the fact that he is having a great goal-scoring season. With the Capitals in great position in the Eastern Conference standings, they can afford for Ovechkin to aggressively pursue the record down the stretch. Despite approaching the record, Ovechkin said it does not feel any different for him.
“I tried to do my best and do my job,” Ovechkin said, via ESPN.
Ovechkin's goal came at an important point in the game for the Capitals. It tied the game with the Rangers at two, and it provided the opportunity for Tom Wilson to score the overtime winner. Wilson spoke on how he and his teammates react when Ovechkin scores.
“I think our bench jumps through the roof whenever he finds the back of the net, which is fitting because he's always the most excited guy on the ice when anybody else scores,” Wilson said, via ESPN. “Whenever he scores, obviously everybody in the hockey world is pretty excited right now.”
It will be interesting to see if Ovechkin can break Gretzky's record before the regular season ends, or if he will have to wait until early next season to pass him.
