HO CHI MINH CITY –
Alex Ovechkin overtook Gordie Howe in second place on the NHL’s career goalscorers list Friday night, scoring his 801st goal in the Washington Capitals’ game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Ovechkin received a drop pass from Dylan Strome early in the round on the right and missed a wrist strike between David Rittich’s pads with 1:38 remaining in the first inning. He was surrounded by teammates to celebrate while his goal-scoring song, “Shake, Rattle and Roll” by Big Joe Turner, played through the stadium speakers.
Fans chanted, “Ovi! Ovi! Ovi” and gave Ovechkin a standing ovation during the ensuing pause as he was honored for his latest achievement.
“It’s great to be in this company, and obviously it’s pretty special,” Ovechkin said on the team’s TV show. “It’s great. I think we’re all making history right now. It’s a pretty special moment and I’m so happy.”
Ovechkin ended a four-game goal drought and played Howe over a week since becoming only the third player to hit the 800 mark. He scored his 801st goal in his 1,310th game – 457 fewer than Howe’s. table.
“Everybody is enjoying the ride now,” Ovechkin said last week. “It’s amazing that we can all get to 800, the third player to ever do it and be on the same team, I think that’s great. It’s special for them.”
Ovechkin’s next goal will put him in sole possession of second place and help him beat Wayne Gretzky’s 894 record of 894 that has long seemed unattainable.
Toronto star Auston Matthews, the current NHL MVP, who scored 60 goals last season, said: “What he’s done year after year, the consistency and the fact that he’s been able to produce. the way he did it consistently, that’s remarkable. “Every year, he always plays every game like it’s his last. He’s just a dark horse. He likes to score, and I think that showed quite clearly throughout the game. his career. You could say so.”
And Ovechkin has no intention of stopping anytime soon. He signed for another three years after this season in the hopes of surpassing 894 goals.
John Carlson, the Washington defender, said: “He’s scored more goals than anyone has ever had, and that’s probably why he got where he is now. “This history, people (he passed away), you’re like a smoking saint, you get to play with a guy for 13 years who beat these guys in the history books. That’s pretty cool stuff. .”
It was Ovechkin’s 52nd goal – the most of any opponent – in 71 matches with the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers brand. He also scored his 600th home goal against Winnipeg.
Jets associate coach Scott Arniel, who had spent the previous four seasons as a Capitals assistant, said he quickly learned that Ovechkin “didn’t stop.”
“He’s a guy who gets motivated when he’s out and about,” says Arniel. “(He’s not) just a shot, a guy who only knows how to play once standing on the sidelines of power play. I’ve seen all the goals he’s scored come in front of the net. Even the hat -trick that he got in Chicago, all three were right there. He did a lot of that too.”
Ovechkin scored in his first game against Rittich, who became the 166th NHL goalkeeper he has beaten to score during his 18-year career. Only Jaromir Jagr at 178 and Patrick Marleau at 177 have scored against more goalkeepers.
