“Ovechkin is a damn good marksman.” How Ovi repeated Gordie Howe’s record, and in America it was called a feat

Ovechkin: “It would be better if I didn’t repeat, but broke the record”

And it happened! Alexander Ovechkin scored his 786th career goal, tying the legendary Gordie Howe in goals on the same team.

Curiously, this happened during Washington’s game in Detroit, where Howe, nicknamed “Steel Elbow”, spent the golden years of his career.

Ovechkin opened the scoring in the 28th minute as he was assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ovi won the puck and tossed it just right, hitting Finn Ville Husso’s gate. True, in the end “Washington” lost (1:3), because the team had too many injuries. The roster was missing defenseman John Carlson (lower body), forwards TJ Oshie (lower body), Niklas Backstrom (thigh), Connor Brown (knee) and Tom Wilson (knee).

“It’s very cool to do it here, although I would rather not repeat it, but break the record here,” Ovechkin said. “It’s a great achievement.”

Detroit now plays at the new Little Caesars Arena, five miles from Olympia Stadium, where Howe scored his 786th goal for the Red Wings on April 3, 1971. And now history is repeating itself more than half a century later .

And now, under the arches of Little Caesars Arena, Howe’s jersey with his signature nine hangs. And the original letters “OLYMPIA” that once affixed to the brick facade of the old-fashioned ice rink have been restored and now adorn the lobby of the new stadium, not far from the statue of Mr. Hockey.

Overall, Ovechkin has scored 36 points (23 goals + 13) in 31 career games against the Red Wings. In such cases, they say, “I have found my client.

And the match was attended by Mark Howe – the son of Gordie Howe. Detroit held celebrations to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup 25 years ago, their first in 42 years. At the same time, the Russian Five shone in the Red Wings, but that’s another story.

108 more steps to Gretzky

Gordie Howe scored 786 goals in 1,687 regular season games in 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (1946-1971). Ovechkin reached that milestone in 1,285 games over 17 seasons with the Capitals, who selected him first overall in the 2004 NHL Draft.

And let’s not forget that Ovechkin (786) was only 15 steps behind Gordie Howe (801) in all career goals. As you remember, Howe then went to the World Hockey Association, where he played for Houston (1973-77) and New England (1977-79), then returned to the NHL that season. 1979/80 – and scored over 15 goals. for Hartford whalers. It is precisely these 15 goals that Ovechkin must now make up for.

Although the main benchmark is Wayne Gretzky (894), it will also have to be reached.

“I’ve always said that staying with the same team for the rest of my career is my goal,” Ovechkin said. – Obviously, I’m lucky to be able to break such records. It’s good”.

Laviolette: “It’s an incredible record”

And some more interesting facts.

First, Husso became the 161st goaltender Alexander Ovechkin to score in his NHL career. Imagine how many goalkeepers he dominated. There’s a whole armada!

Additionally, Ovechkin scored his 400th career away goal. The NHL record, which so far belongs to Wayne Gretzky (402), is now just two goals away.

And speaking of home games, Ovechkin (386) is still sixth behind Wayne Gretzky (492), Gordie Howe (449), Jaromir Jagr (411), Mike Gartner (401) and Brett Hull (388). That is, Alexander the Great often scored his goals on the road, which, of course, is more difficult to do.

“That’s an incredible record,” Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. – Few athletes do – play this long for the organization. But they certainly don’t score as many goals. Of course, I would like that to happen in a match that we win. But it’s an incredible achievement.”

After the game, Ovechkin told reporters how he met Gordie Howe in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game.

“Unfortunately Gordy has already passed away,” Ovi said. “But I had the chance to meet him in Montreal. It is a huge honor. I had the chance to shake his hand, to talk about hockey. It’s a very good memory.”

Mark Howe: ‘I can’t say Ovechkin is a better player than my dad’

Ovechkin was selected by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he has joined the same team. He signed a new contract in 2008 for 13 years and a record $124 million. And last year, Alexander the Great signed a new contract for five years and $47.5 million. He was captain when the Washingtons in 2018 in the first and only once in history has come to victory in the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin rewrote all club records – in terms of number of games played, goals, points, hat tricks and wins.

If one day in Washington a stadium bears the name of Ovechkin, we will not even be surprised by that.

“It doesn’t happen often,” Laviolette recently remarked. – In general, usually hockey players – they are like nomads, they go from club to club. But Ovechkin has always been unwavering in his love for the Capitals.

… And before the game against Detroit, Mark Howe was waiting for him in the locker room after rolling.

“Hi, Alex,” Howe’s son said, shaking Ovechkin’s hand. – Delighted to meet you.

“I’m happy too,” Sasha replied.

“On behalf of Gordy and the Howe family, we wish you all the best,” Mark said, patting Ovechkin on the shoulder. – Good luck. Keep up the good work. Do not stop.

And he won’t. Ovechkin’s next game is Saturday night against Arizona at their arena in Washington, DC, where he could break Howe’s record.

“Ovechkin is a phenomenal scorer,” says Mark. – Do I consider him a better player than Gordie Howe? No. I think Gordy was the best player overall. But Alex Ovechkin is the natural sniper you can be in hockey. »

Mark Howe can tell – he played with his dad in the WHA, then in the NHL for Hartford. He’s been a scout for Detroit since 1995. And he’s watched Ovechkin’s game constantly, monitoring his performance since he joined the league.

I saw him score a lot of goals. It was all in front of my eyes, – said Howe – His throw is very good. There are very few players who have this skill. Pucks after his throw fly strongly and where they need it.

Then he took a picture with Ovi.

“It will probably be a very funny picture. Can’t wait for it to be released,” laughed Mark. – Ovechkin is a real giant, especially on skates. I’ll probably be like a little field mouse next to him.

And then he added: “The most important thing is that Ovechkin really likes what he does. People have different motivations. Sometimes it’s money, someone needs fame. Someone calm down on what has been achieved. But Ovechkin is never satisfied. You can see how focused he is. He wants to win. And he’s a damn good sniper.”