Strom: ‘A goal is a goal and we’re happy for Ovi’
You rarely see that – Alexander Ovechkin doubled and sent both pucks into Philadelphia’s empty net. It’s like Flyers head coach John Tortorella hasn’t loved Wayne Gretzky all his life and now he’s done everything to bring his main competitor in the sniper race, Ovi, closer. of the Great. By the way, now Ovechkin (795) is only 99 goals behind Gretzky (894), which is the match number Wayne played under. Symbolic! In fact, Ovechkin was left alone with Gretzky to catch up with Gretzky.
Ovi’s first empty goal was the 50th of his career when he hit an empty frame. John Carlson picked up the loose puck behind the Capitals net and passed the glass pass to Ovechkin, who was waiting at the blue line. Ovi tricked Tony Diangelo down a half board, then sent the puck into the net.
A minute and a half later, Ovechkin entered the Flyers’ zone, received the puck from Evgeny Kuznetsov and again rammed it into the goal. And then Flyers forward Travis Konecny rolled towards Ovi, hitting him for some reason. Two hockey players exchanged blows, after which they were separated.
“A goal is a goal,” Philadelphia forward Dylan Strome said after the game. “Nobody asks how he was beaten. Everyone wonders how many have been marked. And when you look back, no one will remember how many goals Ovechkin kicked into an empty net. A goal is a goal and we are all happy about that.”
Ovechkin will soon enter the “500 club”
“You watch this Ovechkin every night. See how he tries, how he cares,” Washington head coach Peter Laviolette said. It may not always be obvious. But you notice it when you watch him when he’s on the ice and you see his passion on the field… He loves the game and loves coming to the rink. He plays every day, he trains every day. And it’s great when you’re part of that story yourself.
By the way, Ovechkin has already scored 499 goals in equal compositions. He will soon enter the 500 club, joining Gretzky (617), Gordie Howe (566) and Jaromir Jagr (538).
“For us, it’s crazy to see firsthand and even know what’s going on, creating or happening around him,” Washington defenseman John Carlson said. “It’s a special show. Maybe we take it a bit for granted, because every goal, every game, every season is something big, a new step. … It’s amazing. I think we have maybe been a little numb about it. But that certainly doesn’t change Ovechkin’s impact on the game.”
Ovi could have 824 goals by the end of this season
Speaking of stats, this is Ovechkin’s 405th game in which he has scored multiple points in one shot. He passed Ray Burke for 13th in NHL history. Among active hockey players, only Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby has more (430).
Moreover, Ovechkin has scored 51 empty net goals, which is just behind Gretzky (56). But soon here we can see the all time record.
And Ovechkin, with 15 goals, is eighth in the list of the best snipers of this championship, which already corresponds to his match number. Only Kirill Kaprizov (17), Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak (18 each), Bo Horvath (20), Tage Thompson (21), Jason Robertson (23) and Connor McDavid (24) are ahead.
Let’s say Ovi continues to score goals at his own pace. How many goals will he score by the end of the season?
If you divide Ovechkin’s 15 goals by the 28 games he played, you get 53.6%. Simply put, Ovi averages just over half a goal per game.
Expected end-of-season result: In a full season of 82 league games, captain Ovechkin will score around 44 goals. Which is fine. But it will be his worst record since the 2016-17 season (33 goals).
But the good news is that several of the Capitals’ stars will soon return from injury, including Tom Wilson and Niklas Backstrom. Thus, Ovi can accelerate his pace and even claim the classic 50 goals in a season.
Total: if Alexander the Great scores 29 more goals this season, he will end the season with 824 career goals.
In other words, he will be behind Gretzky by 70 goals. And he has three seasons ahead of him on a five-year contract. That is to say that Ovi will have to score an average of 23.3 goals over three seasons, when he will be 38, 39 and 40 respectively.
Is this real? More … than. We are crossing our fingers that Ovechkin will bypass all injuries.
Ovechkin: “Why did the opponent go up to fight? He lost.”
You’re close to another Wayne Gretzky record. To repeat that, you need to kick five more goals into an empty net, Ovechkin said after the game.
— Yes, it’s always nice to score goals. And it should be noted Kuzya, who gave me a wonderful assist in the second moment. Yes, and at the first moment I was perfectly led to the door.
“And why did Konekny get angry and attack you with his fists?”
Well, they lost, you know. This behavior is completely understandable. And I’m happy for our team. The guys showed character. At the same time, I can understand when the opponent is upset. But that’s hockey.
— Your team has completed a six-match journey with two straight wins. What does this mean for you?
– Today we took two important points, and each of them counts. You need to move on, collecting them as much as possible. We are happy with how it ended. Particularly satisfied with our trip. Now we are going home, resting, restarting, staying with our families. And then we wait for the next matches.
NHL. Regular season
Philadelphia Flyers (Philadelphia) – Washington Capitals (Washington) – 1:4 (1:0, 0:1, 0:3)
Goals: Hayes, 15:46 (bol.). —Oshi, 23:51 (bol.). Strome, 49:19. Ovechkin, 58:25, 59:51.
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.
