The Washington Capitals defeated the defending champion Florida Panthers 6-3 and sealed the victory with an ultimate cherry on top.
Alex Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal with a tenth of a second remaining in the game, beating the buzzer with a perfect shot from the neutral zone. The tally marked Ovechkin’s 878th career goal, bringing him to within 17 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record.
Ovechkin utilized a deke and a head fake to shed the Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues, giving him just enough space to release a shot from way downtown.
After Ovechkin hit the back of the net, there was a delay at Capital One Arena as officials reviewed the potential tally. The overhead camera had the decisive view, showing the puck cross the goal line just before the clock turned 0.0.
“In true O fashion: 0.1,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said post-game. “I looked at Raddy (Taylor Raddysh) and Raddy’s like, ‘It’s good. It’s good.’ The green light helps us of when a puck goes in and then the green light comes on so we thought it was going to be good. Then we got the replay at our feet and it was in with 0.1, so we’ll take it.”
The 39-year-old Ovechkin now has 25 goals in 37 games this season. If he continues his 0.68 goals-per-game pace, the Capitals captain would tie Gretzky’s record on April 4 versus Chicago and break it on April 10 against Carolina.
Ovechkin’s empty-netter on Tuesday also extended his NHL record in the category to 63.
