WASHINGTON — With only 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock, Alex Ovechkin netted his 878th career goal into an empty net, edging closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL record. This goal contributed to the Washington Capitals claiming a 6-3 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, on Tuesday night.
Ovechkin now stands just 17 goals away from surpassing Gretzky’s legendary mark of 894, which was once regarded as an untouchable milestone. The Capitals have 29 games remaining this season for Ovechkin to reach the coveted 895 goals, although he is also under contract for another year beyond this season.
In addition to Ovechkin’s historic goal, the Capitals saw contributions from Andrew Mangiapane, Tom Wilson, Lars Eller, and Nic Dowd, all of whom scored against the two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. Aliaksei Protas also added an empty-net goal. Meanwhile, Logan Thompson, a current Vezina candidate, made 31 saves on 34 shots to help prevent the Capitals from suffering their third consecutive loss.
Despite the ambitious effort, Florida saw their three-game winning streak snapped, with goals coming from Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk, while Bobrovsky managed to make 21 saves.
Key observations from the game highlighted the Panthers showcasing moments of brilliance. Notably, Barkov demonstrated his strength by outmuscling Washington’s Jakob Chychrun to score in the second period. However, this was insufficient to maintain the winning momentum for the reigning champions.
The Capitals initially struggled but improved as the game progressed, finding their rhythm and achieving crucial depth scoring. Notable was Wilson’s shorthanded goal during a 2-on-1 rush alongside Protas.
A significant moment in the match came early in the third period when Eller evaded the defense of Dmitry Kulikov and scored a brilliant shot past Bobrovsky, breaking his 10-game goal drought. This marked Eller’s ninth goal of the season and his fifth against Bobrovsky, including playoffs. Dowd followed suit a few minutes later with what proved to be the game-winning goal.
In terms of team statistics, Protas and Wilson are currently tied for second place on the Capitals’ goal-scoring list, each having scored 22 goals, trailing only Ovechkin.
Looking ahead, the Panthers are set to visit St. Louis on Thursday, coinciding with the Capitals’ matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on the same day.
