Washington Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard made his debut on Tuesday and only had to wait three days to score his first NHL goal, and Wayne Gretzky had a problem with that.
Leonard's goal came on one of the biggest nights in Capitals history with Alex Ovechkin matching Gretzky's all-time goals record, hitting his 893rd and 894th career goals, but not in the best possible situation.
Speaking after the game, Gretzky admitted he “felt bad” for Leonard, whose first career goal came on an empty-net breakaway late in the Capitals’ 5–3 win over the Blackhawks on Friday.
Gretzky suggested Leonard might have opted to skate around the net instead.
“I felt bad for the young man with the breakaway for the empty net,” Gretzky said. "I kept thinking, 'Okay, do you go around the net?"
Sitting beside him on set, Alex Ovechkin quickly interjected, clarifying that he had told Leonard not to pass him the puck as the Caps forward didn't want to break Gretzky's record on such situation.
That prompted a quick reversal from Gretzky.
“Oh,” Gretzky replied. “I’ll take any empty-net goal I can get.
”And I know you would, too.”
Ovechkin is one goal away from overtaking Gretzky in the all-time goal-scoring list, but he's already the NHL’s all-time leader in empty-net goals. Gretzky ranks second.
Leonard, meanwhile, earned his milestone goal just 12 minutes after Ovechkin tied Gretzky’s record, and as the Capitals captured on X, he's now only 893 goals away from reaching those two in the all-time leaderboard.
“It’s cool to score an empty-netter, but at the end of the day, I witnessed history tonight,” Leonard said after the win over Chicago. “It’s cool to score your first but that guy’s scored a lot of goals, so I think it’s even cooler.”
Leonard led the Capitals in shots on goal Friday night, recorded multiple high-danger chances, and played over 13 minutes in his home debut.
He and the Caps will have another chance at scoring more goals on Sunday when they visit the New York Islanders in a matinee matchup.
