Alex Ovechkin helped the Washington Capitals safe a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, scoring his 888th profession aim.
The tally put him inside attain of record-holder Wayne Gretzky, who completed his profession with 894. Ovechkin has 13 extra video games this season to interrupt the document.
Ovechkin was the first to score in the course of the recreation after a blocked shot by the Flyers resulted in Aliaksei Protas discovering the free puck and passing it to Ovechkin, who fired it in with a shot that deflected off goalie Samuel Ersson’s proper pad.
Brandon Duhaime scored the second aim in the course of the second interval, his eighth of the season, and Andrew Mangiapane scored the final point for the Capitals at 11:06. Ovechkin was fast to level out that profitable the sport wasn’t all about scoring and that Charlie Lindgren’s 27 saves as goalie have been important.
The victory secured their playoff spot and made them the primary staff within the NHL to attain 100 standing factors this season.
“Our aim was to make the playoffs this 12 months,” Ovechkin said. “It’s onerous. Each recreation, it’s onerous, particularly on the finish as a result of each staff is combating. That’s why at first of the 12 months and the center of the 12 months, it’s essential to [be] accumulating the factors and really feel snug on the finish. Final 12 months, it took us 82 video games to clinch it, and since 20 video games left final 12 months, it was playoffs for us already. We take it and transfer on.”
Ovechkin has been the face of the Capitals for practically 20 years, and his prolific scoring in pursuit of the Gretzky document has been a subject of dialogue amongst many hockey followers for years.
With the document about to be damaged, each recreation acts as a countdown as anticipation builds. Will the following one be the night time he makes historical past?
