In San Jose, California, Alex Ovechkin netted his 887th career goal on Saturday, steering him closer to Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing NHL goal record, as the Washington Capitals overcame the San Jose Sharks 5-1. Ovechkin tapped in a shot from teammate Martin Fehervary, sailing it past Georgi Romanov with a little over nine minutes left in the third period. With this goal, Ovechkin has scored against an NHL-record 182 different goalies.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin has notched 34 goals this season and appears on track to surpass Gretzky’s formidable tally of 894 goals, a milestone that seemed insurmountable for years. Besides scoring, Ovechkin provided an assist for Dylan Strome’s opening goal, contributing to Washington’s victorious streak of six wins in their last seven outings. Other goal scorers for the Capitals included Aliaksei Protas, Taylor Raddysh, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, with Logan Thompson making a total of 19 saves to safeguard their win. San Jose’s lone goal came from Macklin Celebrini.
Initially, Alexandar Georgiev was in the net for the Sharks, allowing three goals from 17 shots before Georgi Romanov took over after the first period. The Capitals demonstrated resilience, bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat by Los Angeles on Thursday, enhancing their record to 18-4-1 after a loss this season. Conversely, after a recent 4-2 triumph against bottom-tier team Chicago, San Jose struggled substantially against the top-seeded Capitals from the East, managing merely three shots in the opening period.
A pivotal moment in the game came when Ovechkin spotted Strome breaking through the middle; Strome capitalized on the chance by sending a shot past Georgiev, scoring at 7:33 into the game. Ovechkin’s play earned him his 776th road point in his celebrated career. He soon increased it to 777 with his subsequent goal, needing just two more points away from home to leapfrog Gordie Howe, aiming for the eighth spot in all-time NHL road points.
A notable statistic from the night was van Riemsdyk’s goal, ending a long-standing 145-game goal drought, as he scored merely 40 seconds after the Sharks diminished the deficit to 3-1 in the third period. Looking ahead, the Capitals will face the Detroit Red Wings at home on Tuesday, while the Sharks prepare to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday evening.
