Alexander Ovechkin: “It’s very cool to be in such a company of legends”
Washington had an incredible game, losing 22-41 to Newark on shot but managing to beat New Jersey 6-3. And captain Alexander Ovechkin also scored.
It happened late in the second period, when the Capitals were on the power play. Ovechkin received a pass in the left face-off circle and fired hard with his cannon. In general, everything is classic.
The score became 4:1. And this puck was victorious. Ovechkin is second in league history in game-winning goals (122), passing Gordie Howe (121). Only Jaromir Jagr (135) is ahead, but catching the big Czech will be a matter of technique.
“It’s very cool, of course, to be in such a company and bypass these legends. … It’s a very cool moment,” Ovechkin said.
Washington coach Peter Laviolette added, “I’m already used to the fact that every night someone hands me a piece of paper, which says what another milestone Ovechkin has taken. It’s incredible. He constantly contributes to the attack and scores goals. And if you do it well enough and for a long time, then you have such milestones that delight the public. And here is another amazing achievement.”
Yes, this season Ovechkin took a vogue – to overtake Gordie Howe. Recall that Ovi (783 goals) should soon surpass Mr. Steel Elbow (801) in terms of career goals in the NHL. But there’s another milestone – four more goals, and Ovechkin will pass Howe (786) to become the highest-scoring single-team player in NHL history. The same Wayne Gretzky scored 583 goals for Edmonton, but in 1988 he was traded to Los Angeles. But Ovi in the next game, if he plays poker, he can become the king of the hill.
The best shooter in NHL history, if you take a team. You just think about that. It’s not just about a person scoring a lot – it’s about loyalty to the club. And in this sense, Ovechkin is monogamous, and when he played in Russia, he played only for Dynamo Moscow, where he promises to spend the last days of his career.
“I would say the start of the season has not been very good for us. We lost the first two matches, now we are struggling with injuries, – said Ovechkin. – Different team guys come to the fore. And we’ve been there before. The most important thing for us now is to score points, to try to play smart and simple.
And here’s another milestone that Ovi is approaching. After all, he scored his 397th career away goal. You’ll need six more goals to pass Wayne Gretzky (402) and become the NHL’s all-time leading scorer on the road.
Yes, Ovechkin is about to break major league records. He had been waiting for this for a long time. And now it is very close.
Bruce Boudreau looks cursed
Andrey Svechnikov topped the list of the NHL’s best snipers, after managing to catch Steven Stamkos (7). The 22-year-old Carolina forward also scored in the majority, shooting only from the right flank, elegantly kneeling on one knee.
In general, the game in Vancouver turned out to be fragile, the draw lasted until the beginning of the third period, until the Hurricanes scored two more goals with an interval of 37 seconds – Sebastian Aho and Jesper Fast distinguished themselves.
Vancouver, on the other hand, is surprising in that in seven games at the start of the championship, they suffered seven losses, scoring only two points for losses in overtime. The Canucks remain the only NHL team that has yet to win. The spice of the situation is that Vancouver has already missed the eighth straight game, spoiling its head coach’s birthday – Bruce Boudreau can’t win his 600th NHL career victory.
In such cases they say: “Maybe someone cursed him?” It will be surprising if Boudreau is fired and stays at 599. It’s not a good situation for the Russians, who were on the verge of making a name for themselves with the Canucks.
Ilya Mikheev, who moved from Toronto, didn’t remember anything in the second game after the injury. I didn’t even throw a single shot on goal in 18:32 minutes on the ice.
Andrey Kuzmenko was also left without points and his playing time fell to 11:54 minutes. This is not a very good sign – that is, they have stopped trusting him very much. The second KHL scorer last season in seven NHL games has scored just 2 (1+1) points so far.
Phil Kessel: is he waiting for him in the Hall of Fame?
And again on the big discs. “Vegas” forward Phil Kessel repeated the NHL record for most consecutive games. These players are called Iron Man. Kessel played his 989th straight game, edging out retired Keith Yandl on this list.
Below, Doug Jarvis (964), Harry Unger (914), Patrick Marlowe (910) – they all also dropped out of the race. Kessel is therefore left alone with eternity, and very soon he can make his 1000th game in a row. Marvellous!
We used to treat Kessel like a big hot dog cracker, and his teammates constantly tease him.
But, by the way, Kessel was very good in Toronto – just this club just beat their Vegas (3: 1), which is symbolic. When Phil moved to Pittsburgh, he won two Stanley Cups and he was good on the tie with Evgeni Malkin.
Finally, he played 1,211 NHL games and scored 958 points. What is it if not a nomination for the Hockey Hall of Fame, where one day Kessel could be included?
True, for this you have to wait three years after the end of your career. There are exceptions in very rare cases where the Hall of Fame is accepted immediately – it was made for Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux…
And something tells me it will be done for Alexander Ovechkin. But we want Sasha to play hockey for a long time. After all, we still want to see him in Moscow – as part of Dynamo.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
