Ageless wonder Alex Ovechkin scored in his third consecutive game on Saturday — his fourth tally during that span and his sixth in the last seven games. If Wayne Gretzky wasn’t so gosh darn nice, he’d be shaking in his boots right now.
Taking a cross-ice pass from Dylan Strome, Ovechkin ripped a huge slap shot at the top of the left circle past Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov for his 859th career goal. Ovi’s lamp lighter put the Caps up 4-0 at the 14:34 mark of the first.
Tarasov got a big piece of the shot, but the puck squirted through his five-hole. It marked the third goal he’s given up to Ovechkin in the Capitals captain’s career; Ovi scored the three goals on his first six shots on the Russian netminder.
The goal marked Ovechkin’s sixth of the 2024-25 season after starting the year scoreless in his first three games. The tally was part of a wild, five-goal first period where the Capitals scored on five of their first seven shots.
“I told Raddy that when he scores, he scores in bunches, so be ready,” Strome said. “That was three games ago. So he just finds a way to get open. He has a great shot. Try to pass to him as much as you can. I looked him off on the two-on-one there — that’s not usually like me, but I thought I had the shot. Yeah, it’s fun to play with him. He’s got 1,600 points for a reason. He knows how to score, knows how to make plays, and it’s an honor to be on his line.”
Ovechkin now trails Gretzky by 35 for a share of the NHL’s all-time goals record of 894. He’s on pace to break the record this season.
Ovechkin would also collect two assists in the victory, notching his second three-point game of the season and the 134th of his career. The Capitals won 7-2, moving to first in the Metropolitan Division.
