The Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 on Thursday night, winning their seventh of nine games to start the season.
And while Alex Ovechkin didn’t have a trick on Halloween night, he did have a treat. Ovi scored a goal — the 858th of his illustrious career — and had his 133rd career three-point night.
Ovechkin’s tally was his fifth in nine games this season and his third in the last two. He now trails Wayne Gretzky by 36 for a share of the NHL’s all-time goals record. And he’s now on pace to eclipse Gretzky by year’s end.
The Capitals captain scored 12:27 into the third period to officially give Washington a touchdown.
Taking a pass from Aliaksei Protas at the far post, Ovechkin gathered the puck just enough to rip a shot past Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau.
This is poise, folks.
“You can see empty netters, you know?” Ovechkin said postgame. “(Strome) and Pro find me out there and I almost miss it, too.”
Primeau is now the 176th different goaltender Ovechkin has scored on in his 20-year career. The only two players to score on more netminders in NHL history are Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177).
Ovechkin now has 1,560 points in his career, and these moments aren’t lost on his line-mate, Protas.
“It’s for sure memories for a lifetime right now,” Protas said of playing with Ovechkin to Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “Just try to be on my best every shift, every chance I get. It’s pretty fun. I will remember that forever.”
