Alex Ovechkin remains on fire.
The Washington Capitals superstar scored twice — his 837th and 838th goals of his career — to help lead the Caps’ to a 6-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
After posting 8 goals in his first 43 games of the season, Ovechkin now has 8 in his last 8 games.
Career goal no. 837
Ovechkin’s first of the night came 8:44 into the third period to make it 4-1 Capitals. After a faceoff win by Dylan Strome, Ovi beat Nico Daws clean on a wrist shot from the left circle.
Puck luck continues to be on Ovi’s side in the second half of the season. The Capitals captain benefitted from whiffing on his first shot attempt, which forced Daws to go down and commit, opening up the top corner of the net.
“Talking about that first goal, that’s the one I’ve seen so many times,” Monumental Sports Network’s Bruce Boudreau said after the game. “There’s nobody in the league still to this day that can double clutch and get the shot away as hard and as accurate as that first goal. Most guys would flip that to the net. He had something on it and that’s what makes him The Great 8.”
Career goal no. 838
Ovi’s second came with 33 seconds remaining on a power play. The primary assist again went to Dylan Strome. After mucking a shot towards the net, Strome hit Ovechkin with a pass backdoor for a tap in.
“He went to the net,” Boudreau said. “He was tapping his stick a little before he got it because he knew he was open and he would score.”
After the game, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery gave props to Ovechkin along with Dylan Strome and TJ Oshie.
“I want to highlight one more thing,” Carbery said. “Stromer, Osh, O bit of a struggle to start, but what we do, when the chips are in the middle of the table and we need you most, you have an incredible third period all three of you guys.”
With 838 career goals, Ovechkin now trails Wayne Gretzky (894) by 56 in his chase for the NHL’s all-time goals record.
After a slow start to the season, Ovechkin now has 16 goals on the year and is on pace for 25 this season.
The goals marked Ovechkin’s second and third career tallies on Devils goaltender Nico Daws. Ovi’s first on Daws came on March 26, 2022 — his 772nd career tally to make Daws the 157th different goaltender he’s scored on.
Ovi is now on a nine-game point streak — his first since the Todd Reirden era (10/08/2019-10/24/2019). Per Capitals PR, Ovechkin has recorded 21 points (10g, 11a) in his last 18 games and 24 points (11g, 13a) in his last 23 games.
