Washington (AFP) – Alex Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to score his 900th career goal in the Washington Capitals’ 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. The 40-year-old Russian left wing, the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader, notched the milestone tally in the second period of a blowout victory in his 1,504th career NHL game.
“Pretty cool, first player ever to do that, so it’s a special moment,” said Ovechkin, who helped the Capitals snap a five-game losing streak. “With losing streak, it was a kind of an important goal and obviously 900 was number one.” Asked to select his favorite goal, Ovechkin smiled and said, “Every goal is so hard to score in this league. I can’t pick one.” Ovechkin has not announced his plans beyond this season but was clearly excited about the young campaign. “We’re still having fun,” he said. “We still have a great atmosphere in the locker room. Still enjoy it.”
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Ovechkin, who passed Canadian icon Wayne Gretzky’s old NHL mark of 894 goals last season, netted his third goal in 13 games this season, his 21st NHL campaign. The Capitals captain reached the amazing milestone 2:39 into the second period to give the hosts a 2-0 lead after Washington’s Tom Wilson opened the scoring in the first period. Ovechkin scored his landmark goal after defenseman Jakob Chychrun had a shot blocked by Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington. The rebound bounced to the right of the goal and the left of Binnington where Ovechkin awaited near the goal line. Ovechkin, turned mostly away from the goal, spun and flipped a quick backhand shot that beat Binnington.
The puck went in, the red goal light began flashing, and Ovechkin screamed and leaped with joy to begin an extended celebration. Cheering fans gave Ovechkin a standing ovation as his teammates cleared the bench, skating across the ice to the far glass to share in a team celebration hug. The club mascot turned over the numbers on a large counter in the arena from 899 to 900 as confetti flew in the stands. It was the 442nd home goal of Ovechkin’s NHL career, spent entirely with the Capitals.
Ovechkin raised his stick to thank supporters for their cheers and a few minutes later, after a video tribute was played during a timeout, Ovechkin touched his chest over his heart and waved to the crowd in response to another standing ovation. Binnington, who took the historic puck from Ovechkin’s goal and pocketed it before a linesman retrieved it from him, was pulled after surrendering four goals in just under 30 minutes.
Ovechkin scored 44 goals last season and eclipsed Gretzky for the record on April 6 when he scored his 895th career goal at the New York Islanders. He added two more goals last season and two earlier this season, on October 17 against Minnesota and October 24 at Columbus. Anthony Beauvillier scored twice in the second period and John Carlson added a goal to make it 5-0 Capitals after two periods. Wilson and the Blues’ Alexey Toropchenko scored in the third period to create the final margin. The Capitals improved to 7-5-1 while the Blues fell to 4-8-2.
© 2024 AFP
