Home / News / Evgeny Kuznetsov finally got in a milestone goal picture with Alex Ovechkin. Ovi: ‘He wants to be in history and right now he is.’

Evgeny Kuznetsov finally got in a milestone goal picture with Alex Ovechkin. Ovi: ‘He wants to be in history and right now he is.’

By Ian Oland

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March 16, 2022 12:51 pm

Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov admitted during training camp that he hoped to have a huge bounceback year in 2021-22. He also wanted to help Alex Ovechkin reach career milestones. Because he wanted to “be in that picture!”

Tuesday night, Kuznetsov finally got his wish. After one of the cleanest offensive zone faceoff wins of his career, Kuzy found Ovechkin off a set play. With a flick of the wrist, Ovechkin passed Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL’s all-time goals list.

“Finally, Kuzy win good faceoff,” Ovechkin joked postgame. “Right on my stick.

“I just close my eyes and shoot.”

Postgame, Ovechkin and Kuznetsov posed with milestone goal puck and the Russian center’s joy clearly radiates off the screen.

A joking Ovechkin partly blamed Kuzy for taking so long (three games) to pass Jagr after tying the Czech legend in a game last week against the Calgary Flames.

“I have pressure from Kuzy,” Ovechkin said. “Empty nets, breakaways. You know, it’s hard to play with this kind of center when you have a pressure all the time. He wants to be in history and right now he is. I think he’s relieved too, right?”

Ovechkin patted Kuznetsov on the back.

“I got in the picture finally!” Kuznetsov said laughing. “It’s seven years.”

Kuznetsov previously assisted on Ovechkin’s milestone goal number 700 against the New Jersey Devils but Ovechkin opted to go solo in 2020.

“Yeah, that’s when he didn’t put me in the picture, it was just him,” Kuznetsov said accusingly.

The picture mattered to Kuznetsov greatly because it would serve as a somber reminder of what he accomplished in his career and just how great of a player he got to suit up next to.

“For now, [Ovi] just friend, teammate,” Kuznetsov said. “You don’t really even think about who you play with. For us, you know, he’s so close to us. We never even talk about his accomplishments or those milestones. I’m pretty sure one day when I’m going to retire I hope he’s going to still be friends with me. We’re going to sit somewhere and talk about and remember some of those milestones. For now, we’ve kind of turned the page and focus on what’s next. It’s such a long year in such a short career so you don’t even think about it.”

On this night, however, Kuznetsov got to pose in two photos with The Great 8. Inside the locker room, Ovechkin snapped a pic with the entire team. Kuznetsov gave up his spot near his friend so longtime center Nicklas Backstrom could put his arm around Ovi.

“I think everybody wants me to score that goal,” Ovechkin said. “It’s not about who was on the line, it’s all of our team. We play together. Doesn’t matter who’s on the ice. Everybody is involved in this milestone. I’m very happy and thankful to be on this team for such a long time, especially with those guys.”

Photo: @Capitals/Twitter

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