Alex Ovechkin didn’t score for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. This is surprising on the one hand because the striker has scored in more than half of the games this season; and it was amazing because the Capitals managed four goals against the Rangers in New York’s Madison Square Garden – and when the puck lands four times in the opponent’s net, Ovechkin is usually responsible for at least one. On the other hand, Ovechkin has scored so many goals in his terrific NHL career that he can treat himself to a game without.
That’s right after his hit with the Winnipeg Jets the day before Christmas Eve 802. He overtook Gordie Howe and is second in the all-time scoring charts in the North American Hockey League. Only ahead of him: Wayne Gretzky, The Great One. So Ovechkin is: The Next One.
When someone reaches a milestone like that, you sometimes look at how it started – and in the case of Ovechkin, that actually says a lot about him. He was chosen as the first player of his year in 2004, and he said at the time: “Whoever gets picked first is the best – and I always want to be the best. Yes, I can make it in this NHL. I can score goals. “
Anyone who talks to people who have known Ovechkin for years, Capitals coach Peter Laviolette for example, who learns that Ovechkin retained this combination of self-confidence, ambition and respect for this league into his 18th NHL season: “With With that passion, which he really shows every day, whether it’s a match or training, anything is possible. He knows how good he is, but he also knows how much work it takes to be that good.”
Ovechkin received the Hart Trophy for the most valuable player of the season three times, and he was the top scorer nine times
Ovechkin has spent his entire career in Washington. He received the Hart Trophy for the most valuable player of the season three times, he led the scorer list nine times, and in 2018 he finally won the Stanley Cup – unforgettable the moment when he jumped dead drunk in a fountain in Washington and celebrates together with Capitals fans.
Ovechkin, 37, has long been on the list of legendary NHL scorers such as Jaromir Jagr (766) – who, by the way, recently played again for the Kladno Knights in the Czech Extraliga at the age of 50 -), Brett Hull (741 ) and Marcel Dionne (731), but now he’s number two and chasing a record that was said could not be matched. The next active player: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) with 536 hits.
“I never thought anyone would be able to break Gretzky’s record,” says Luc Robitaille. As a forward for the Los Angeles Kings, he once set up Gretzky’s 802nd goal; now he is president of the franchise. “A few years ago I started to take a closer look at Alex,” he says, and then he talks about Ovechkin’s goal against the Kings last season: Ovechkin is on the left wing. Yes, it stands, it doesn’t slide; he tiptoes, a little forward, a little sideways, a little backwards: five seconds, ten, 15; and suddenly the puck miraculously comes to him. shot, goal.
Now, one could say that Ovechkin is simply often right; Or, as with all legendary goalscorers, ask: How did he get there – and why isn’t anyone else there? Watching Ovechkin, you can see how he analyzes and slightly adjusts his position. How he only appears to be doing nothing but is actually making mini changes – and how he still has one of the hardest shots in the league (100+ mph). Kings goalkeeper Johnny Quick says of Owetschkin’s trademark, a direct acceptance after a pass on the left wing: “Straightforward, precise – and tough as nails. A few km/h doesn’t sound like much, but they are the difference between whether you see the puck at all or not .” Most goalkeepers don’t see Ovechkin’s puck until he’s in the goal.
Robitaille raises his eyebrows as a sign that someone with this talent and style of play can continue to score goals beyond the age of 40: “If he stays healthy, he will break the record.” Ovechkin says that of course he’s squinting at this brand, but he also says, and that self-confident respect comes through again: “Step by step.”
In the last season and a half, Ovechkin has scored 0.6 goals per game; which roughly corresponds to his career average. So: If he continues like this, and there are currently no signs that he shouldn’t, then he should break Gretzky’s record in the 2024/25 season. Ovechkin’s contract with the Capitals, which earns him an average of $9.5 million per season, runs for a year longer to be on the safe side.
