The Washington Capitals had one of their worst periods in recent memory against the Ottawa Senators in the first. The Senators recorded 16 of the game’s first 20 shots. The Capitals were sloppy and struggled to generate any offense.
Not in the second period.
Alex Ovechkin scored on a breakaway during his first shift of the period to wake up his sleepy teammates. The goal was the 803rd of his career.
Ovechkin scored after being sprung by Erik Gustafsson with a pass from the Capitals’ defensive zone, catching the Senators on a bad change. Ovechkin rushed in alone and beat Cam Talbot five-hole.
The goal was Ovechkin’s 23rd of the season, putting him on pace for 49 goals this season. He’s averaging, at age 37, 0.605 goals per game.
Ovi now has 10 goals in his last 11 games and 15 in his last 20.
Most importantly, Ovechkin now trails Wayne Gretzky by 91 goals.
The goal also marked Ovechkin’s NHL-record 138th game-opening goal per Capitals PR.
