WASHINGTON, April 2. /TASS/. Russian superstar forward and Washington Capitals’ captain Alexander Ovechkin scored another goal on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins, putting him just three goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.
Ovechkin's goal came in the opening period, giving his team a 2-0 lead it would not relinquish. He netted his 38th goal of the season on a power play, assisted by Dylan Strome and John Carlson. The Capitals ended a three-game losing skid Tuesday, defeating the Bruins in Boston 4-3.
"Game by game, shift by shift," the NHL’s official website quoted Ovechkin as saying after the match about his team’s win. "Right now, at this time of the year, everybody has to be sharp and get ready for the playoffs."
Asked to comment on his 891st goal, the Russian forward was curt, saying only: "A goal is a goal. It was great play by 'Stromer' [Dylan Strome] and 'Carly' [John Carlson]."
Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery said that the media attention surrounding Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s record was not a distraction for the team. On the contrary, it was injecting them with life as they finish out the regular season and get ready for the playoffs.
"I think it’s brought our group up," Carbery said. "And the anticipation and him scoring and the jolt of energy that it’s provided on a nightly basis, I don’t think it’s been a negative or weight on anybody’s shoulders, his or the rest of the group."
Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren described the hoopla around Ovechkin this season as an "incredible journey."
"It’s unbelievable, and I think that’s selling it short how just incredible this whole journey has been," Lindgren said. "I go back to when he was injured and out for a while. I think when that happened, everyone was kind of thinking to themselves whether or not it was going to be possible [this season]. But anything’s possible with Alex Ovechkin."
Ovechkin now has 38 goals and 27 assists in 58 games this season. Despite missing 16 games earlier in the season with a broken leg, Ovechkin is still in the top-10 in the NHL in goals this year, and is now second in NHL history with 891 goals, trailing only the Great One himself Wayne Gretzky of Canada, who had 894 goals in his NHL career.
Canadian-American ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky's career spanned twenty seasons over four different NHL clubs. From 1979 and 1999, Gretzky, considered by many to be the greatest hockey player of all-time, broke numerous NHL records, including the one for goals scored.
Ovechkin, 39, is signed with the Washington Capitals through 2026. The team, which has already clinched a playoff spot, has eight games left in the regular season.
Ovechkin has played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals, who selected him with the 42nd pick in the 2004 draft. The Russian superstar led the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, the only one of his career, and the only one in the club's history.
In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie," as he is called by his fans, won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships to go along with his two silver and four bronze medals at the world championships.
During a rally of the newly-elected US president’s supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington on January 20, US President Donald Trump called Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin "a great player."