This year’s Washington Capitals know their story is one for the history books. As Alex Ovechkin barrels towards the all-time goals record, what once looked like an impossible milestone could be just weeks away.
Ovechkin drew even closer to Wayne Gretzky when he scored his 32nd career hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday afternoon; he now sits just 13 goals away from sole possession of the record and shows no sign of letting up soon.
Even after playing with him night after night, Ovechkin’s teammates are still awed by his talent on display, with goaltender Charlie Lindgren calling him the “best hockey player in the world.”
“I’m telling you, he amazes me night in, night out,” he said postgame. “He truly is the best. So thankful that he’s a Washington Capital and to share a locker room with him, it’s just been incredible.”
Plenty of NHL teams put up good seasons — someone wins the Cup every year — but few players bear witness to a career like Ovechkin’s. Though Ovechkin insists the record isn’t on his mind, the weight of the moment hasn’t escaped the rest of the roster.
“You can’t deny how special this is,” Lindgren said. “It’s just insane, honestly. So yeah, to see the run he’s on, the way he’s scoring goals, I’m trying to soak it in every single chance I can. And it’s fun to see our crowd, too, just hop aboard and support O like they’ve been doing. We’ve got a team that supports him. But yeah, it’s been fun. I’m soaking it in.”
Not only is Ovechkin nearing Gretzky’s record, he’s doing so while playing arguably some of the best hockey of his career — he ranks seventh in goals this season despite missing 16 games with a fractured fibula. With an average of 0.707 goals per game, Ovechkin is scoring at the third-fastest pace of his career, beating every season since he averaged 0.709 goals per game in 2008-09.
Tom Wilson, who briefly tied Ovechkin for the team lead in goals before the hat trick, marveled at Ovechkin’s refusal to take his foot off the pedal.
“I have no business testing him with (the team lead in goals),” he joked. “Whenever he gets a goal or two — I’ve never seen a guy so hungry. Some guys score and they (think), ‘OK, I had a good night.’ He comes back to the bench, he’s asking if he can go out again right away.
“It’s pretty fun, and it’s been an amazing journey watching him do what he can do.”
Asked about the skill required on Ovechkin’s final goal of the game — an 139-foot shot on the Oilers’ empty net — Wilson remarked that the feat hardly posed a challenge for Ovechkin.
“I mean, he’s the best goal-scorer of all time,” he said. “He’ll be OK with that one.
“Everything he does is impressive. He just finds a way. He’s the best goal-scorer of all time, and when he gets that, he’s not going to miss those, that’s for sure. He finds a way, whether it’s in front of the net on a rebound, whether it’s an empty net, whether it’s a one-timer, whether it’s going end to end, he just has so many ways to score goals and it’s always just so fun to watch.”
Ovechkin is now on pace to break the record on April 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks at home, but keeping up his current pace will be no small task. Asked if he thought he could hit 895 this season, Ovechkin deflected, telling reporters he was just focused on the games ahead.
“Game by game” he said. “Yeah, today I have pretty good chances to score more, but I’ll take three.”
Dylan Strome, meanwhile, thinks his linemate can manage it.
“13 to go so it’s going to be tough still, but got to keep our foot down here,” he said. “It helps when we score seven or eight goals in a game, it helps when we get some power plays, so we’ve just got to keep working and hopefully we can get there this year.”
Head coach Spencer Carbery is well aware that he’ll likely be the coach on the bench when Ovechkin breaks the record, but even after a year and a half coaching him, he admitted it’s still hard to believe what he’s capable of.
“You can’t write this stuff,” he said. “You really could not write a story and a book of what he’s doing right now at 39. The goals he’s scoring — I mean, he could’ve had six tonight, realistically. So, on a back-to-back, 39, we flew last (night)….It’s just incredible.”
