Late in the third period, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the 544th goal of his career, tying him with one of the greatest players of all time, Maurice “Rocket” Richard.

Yes, the six-time winner of the Richard Trophy (for most goals in a season) is now tied with the trophy’s namesake. And of course Ovi did it in Richard’s hometown of Montreal.

Here’s how it happened.

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After taking a cross-ice pass from Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin surprised former Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price by chucking a muffin towards the far corner of the net.

Look at the poise here.

“That’s just a smart shot,” Braden Holtby said to Аrpon Basu. “A lot of guys can do that, but a lot of guys don’t understand why you do that. [They] don’t understand why that’s so hard as a goaltender to stop, the timing of it, and realizing the situation of not having to blast it through – just seeing what it is and scoring.”

Ovechkin was later asked about tying The Rocket and what it meant to him.

“It’s actually pretty history [so sic] moment,” Ovechkin said to Sportsnet. “It’s nice to be in his company. I’m really glad.”

Add that goal to his two assists on Monday night, and Ovi now sits one point shy of 1000.

“I’m going to try and do it at the homestand,” Ovechkin said. “I hope my wife, my parents, my brother, and all fans gonna see this.”

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Headline photo: @Capitals