Athletistic/Hockey. Washington’s Russian forward Alexander Ovechkin finally ended his long scoreless streak. This happened in a regular season NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets (3:2, overtime).

After the match, Ovechkin did not hide his joyful emotions. The Washington captain was happy to finally score. The Russian indicated that he intended to continue in the same spirit.

“I don’t think we played any different. Washington moved the puck well, kept it and found rebounds. We need confidence. You can see we have shots, we scored two big goals, after which I said: ‘I hope so.’ ‘, you know, that’s the message for us on how to play.” We will continue like this.

A lot of time has passed. You just have to accept it and move on. We fought, but we weren’t precise enough and we didn’t move the puck well.

My goal? There were good chances before, but sometimes you just have to keep attacking and persist. I’m glad I was able to stop. I hope to score more goals in the future,” Ovechkin said.

It should be noted that Ovechkin scored the decisive goal in overtime. For the captain of the capital, this point became the 40th point in overtime of his career. With this, Ovechkin passed Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin (39) and moved into second place in NHL history for goals outside of regulation time. The record is held by Canadian Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. The forward has 43 points in overtime during his career.

Here’s how Washington head coach Spencer Carbery rated Ovechkin’s performance.

“Of course, this puck could be a potential springboard for Ovechkin. Alexander was one of the best on our team today. He made dangerous shots, had good openings, the puck literally found him. He seemed like he had better control. This puck will be huge for him,” said the specialist.

“Ovechkin’s nightmare streak without a goal was interrupted? This is a nightmare for you! The team is at the top, in the playoff zone – and for you it is a nightmare. Not supporting – you start dragging him into these rumors! Why? He’s playing very well, for the team. This happens in his life. It’s not the first time this has happened to him – however, he didn’t score in 10-11 games. Now 14 – he scored in the 15th! And It will continue. It broke through – now he will continue to score. After your rumors, they don’t contribute to the Hall of Fame! (laughs) Well , not Ovechkin, but Malkin, of course. Because of these rumors. You all live on rumors!

We know Ovechkin’s level, but it happens: someone doesn’t score. It’s hockey! No more attention, psychology, dad died. There can be many factors here,” said two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov.

“Ovechkin’s age cannot be an obstacle? Age cannot be an obstacle, because I know Sasha. He is a great professional, he loves hockey and knows how to prepare. Therefore, everything will be fine good. We wish him that,” said Olympic champion and vice-president of the KHL Valery Kamensky.

“Now things will be fine for him. There was so much pressure on him… But everything will be fine. Everyone has such periods. Not just Ovechkin. It’s just that Sasha is about to beat Gretzky’s record, that’s why everyone puts so much emphasis on him, but every player goes through it.

Was there no point in talking about the record breaking series? No one will say it, you can only discuss this topic. But there’s nothing wrong with that. There is only one way to get through such a segment: to score. And then things will go well, he will break through,” stressed Spartak head coach Alexei Zhamnov.

Here’s how Washington fans reacted to Ovechkin’s goal on social media:

@Capsreplays:

“Look at all of this and try to say that Ovi’s pursuit of the sniper record somehow distracts the rest of the team from the goal of winning every game. The partners are energized by Ovechkin, and I’m sure after this goal they were as relieved as Alex himself. We all love Ovi.

@KBagrie:

– Bad news for Ovechkin’s enemies.

@CurtisGRush:

– Only the sixth goal of the season – and I celebrated like I had won the Stanley Cup.

@annasleong:

Our long nightmare is finally over.

@Shae_Nuge93:

– I don’t know why people even decided that Ovi was blown away.

@ProducerDrew_:

– Ovechkin should break through in the near future. 4% efficient shooting – he will never have such statistics.

@nosardre:

– Now a scoring streak is required from Ovechkin. I hope today was the start.

@caps_nation:

“Ovi’s goal is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.”

@AdamReid_:

– Well, what else can you expect when Ovechkin has so much time and space to film?

@BrettLe37167213:

– “Washington” unfairly obtained a majority that Ovechkin converted. The NHL is looking for any way to give Ovi goals. Ugh!

@AnnaNoelleDua:

– Ovi scores from his office, which means that the usual order of things has returned to the world.

@22nucksfan33:

– It’s only a matter of time before Ovi reaches his usual shooting percentage. The 4.6% rate as it currently stands is incredibly bad luck. He still has chances and his shot is as powerful as before.

@rdayvis:

– After this goal, Ovi will be really excited!

@DanielG123_:

– To beat Gretzky’s record, he needs to score 67 more goals – and that’s a decent number for a 38-year-old who sometimes seems to be throwing himself against the wall.

@BOSMike808:

– Maybe I should take Ovi to my fantasy team?

@BuresFlow:

– How come it was only his sixth goal? A kind of savagery.

@GuentzelForMVP:

– Yes, he still won’t have Gretzky.

@Astone112_:

– Ovechkin’s goals are good for hockey. You have to be very stupid to complain about that.

Ovechkin reduced the gap on Wayne Gretzky (894) to 66 goals. This season, the Russian has 20 points (6+14) in 30 matches. In total, Alexander played 1,376 games during his NHL career, making 1,503 (827+626) effective actions.

Washington is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 38 points in 30 matches. In the next match, the capital club will meet Tampa.

Andrey Andreev, Sport.Ru


@sportru