Alex Ovechkin scored the most historic goal of his career on Friday when he sent a no-look shot into the empty net against the Winnipeg Jets.
The goal was Ovechkin’s 802nd of his career, giving him sole possession of second place on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
While Ovechkin waved at the crowd and Mark Howe said his congratulations on the jumbotron, some fans were left wondering something even more consequential: Did Ovi’s empty-netter count as a McNuggets Minute goal?
The confusion was because of when Ovi scored the goal.
If you look closely at the scoring summary, Ovechkin scored exactly at the 19:00 minute mark – ie: with one minute remaining in the period.

The left many wondering: Do McNugget Minute goals fall under a minute (59.9 seconds or fewer) or one minute and under?
Our hero of this article is Liz who cleared everything up via an email she got from Mcdonald’s this morning.
Fyi we do get nugs pic.twitter.com/xlz16cK3oi
— Liz (@lizzardkingg) December 24, 2022
So yes. Not only did Alex Ovechkin accomplish some incredible NHL history, but Santa Ovi just delivered us all free chicken nuggets on Christmas Eve. Go get em while the golden arches are still open.
gordie howe passing, christmas eve mcnuggets pic.twitter.com/dkH68cedJi
— mol 🧸 (@molfully) December 24, 2022
Full Coverage of Alex Ovechkin’s 802nd goal
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB