Alex Ovechkin scored the first and second goals of his career, 20 years ago today.
In front of 16,325 fans at MCI Center, a then-20-year-old Ovechkin made his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets and immediately made his arrival felt with a loud thud. On his first shift, an exuberant Ovechkin broke the plexiglass while slamming Blue Jackets defenseman Radoslav Suchy into the boards.
Dripping with aura, The Great 8 followed that up by scoring his milestone first NHL goal on Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire via a huge one-timer.
“Ovechkin FIRES! HE SCORESSS!” Joe Beninati yelled on the call. “Alexander Ovechkin. Welcome on board!”
Dainius Zubrus and Jeff Halpern earned assists on the five-on-five tally scored 7:21 into the second period. Ovechkin kissed his glove and pointed upwards, a tribute to his late brother Sergei, which he continues to this day.
With 8:09 remaining in the period, Ovechkin added another goal, this time on a power play, after driving the net and burying a rebound chance.
The Capitals would go on to win the game 3-2 with Zubrus scoring the game-winning goal on a power play late in the middle stanza.
Speaking to reporters after the game, an excited Ovechkin gave respect to his linemates for how simple they made his tallies.
“It feel very good. I must thank my [teammates] for giving me two excellent passes. It was just a shot. I must only shoot, and I score two goals. It’s my first game in the NHL, we win, and I score two goals. It’s a nice start.”
Since then, Ovechkin has gone on to score 895 more goals, bringing his career total to 897, an NHL record. Ovechkin also recently showed his appreciation to Leclaire for marking the beginning of his goals chase. The Capitals captain sent him a signed jersey that reads, “You were #1 :).”
