Alex Ovechkin couldn’t find the back of the net against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night but that didn’t stop him from leaving his mark on the game. With the Capitals and Islanders tied at two goals apiece in overtime, The Great Eight fed Dylan Strome the primary assist on Strome’s game-winning tally.
The overtime point was the 39th of Ovechkin’s career and pushed him up the NHL’s all-time overtime points list. He now trails just Sidney Crosby (43) for the all-time lead in extra frame scoring.
Alex Ovechkin assisted on Dylan Strome's overtime goal and climbed another all-time NHL list in the @Capitals' win.#NHLStats: https://t.co/ktw36LhgHD pic.twitter.com/z5agSFkBRz
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 21, 2023
Ovechkin had previously been sitting third on the all-time list, trailing Pittsburgh Penguins legend and fellow Russian countryman Evgeni Malkin by one point. All three players at the top of the list are still active, sitting above the retired Patrik Elias (37).
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Crosby | 20 | 23 | 43 |
| Alex Ovechkin | 25 | 14 | 39 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 13 | 26 | 39 |
| Patrik Elias | 16 | 21 | 37 |
| Johnny Gaudreau | 14 | 22 | 36 |
| Ryan Getzlaf | 11 | 25 | 36 |
| Patrick Kane | 9 | 26 | 35 |
| Jaromir Jagr | 19 | 16 | 35 |
| Erik Karlsson | 9 | 25 | 34 |
| John Tavares | 17 | 17 | 34 |
Strome’s tally came at the 1:41 mark of the overtime period with the Capitals on a power play. Strome kicked the play off by curling around into the high slot and feeding Ovechkin the puck at the top of the left circle. Ovechkin then immediately bumped the puck back to Strome who fired a wrister through a Tom Wilson screen past goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Defender John Carlson recorded the secondary assist on the goal.
Him? HIM. pic.twitter.com/GwtBpLZ2Bc
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 21, 2023
Strome is one of just six skaters in the NHL this season with more than one overtime goal. Ovechkin is the league’s all-time leader in OT markers with 25. He holds a five-goal lead over Crosby (20).
The Capitals’ 3-2 win was their eighth against Metropolitan Division competition this season. They sit just three points out of second in the division with games in hand on every single team ahead of them.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
