MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The National Hockey League (NHL) refused to accredit TASS journalists who asked to cover Washington Capitals' games down the stretch as captain Alexander Ovechkin chases the all-time goals record, the NHL’s press office said in a statement to TASS.
"Your request for credentials cannot be accommodated. Thanks for your interest," the statement reads in response to a TASS application for accreditation.
On Wednesday night, Russia’s Ovechkin scored another goal in a match against the Carolina Hurricanes, putting him just two goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.
The Washington Capitals are scheduled to play their next game at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4.
Ovechkin now has 39 goals and 27 assists in 59 games this season. Despite missing 16 games earlier in the season with a broken leg, Ovechkin is tied for third-most goals in the NHL this year, and is now second in NHL history with 892 goals, trailing only the Great One himself Wayne Gretzky of Canada, who had 894 goals in his NHL career.
Ovechkin, 39, is signed with the Washington Capitals through 2026. The team, which has already clinched a playoff spot, has seven 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.