WASHINGTON, DC — Twenty-one seasons into Alex Ovechkin’s NHL career, his teammates have gotten used to watching him make history. Even before he broke the league’s all-time goal record, Ovechkin has spent decades blazing a trail through milestones once thought untouchable, making career achievements feel almost routine.
“It just feels like it’s a common occurrence around here that he’s chasing some type of incredible record that you just can’t even wrap your head around,” head coach Spencer Carbery said in October.
Not much about Ovechkin shocks the Capitals these days. They’ve watched him lead the league in goals an unprecedented nine times, winning league MVP three of those seasons. They’ve seen him lead his team to a Stanley Cup as the Conn Smythe winner in 2018. They saw him recover from a broken fibula at age 39, missing just 16 games on the way to a 44-goal season. And they were there beside him when he summited the mountaintop with goal no. 895 this spring.
All of that is to say, the Capitals weren’t surprised to see Ovechkin become the first player in NHL history to reach 900 goals. That didn’t make the moment any less magical to witness.
“It’s tough to find the words, honestly, it’s just special,” Jakob Chychrun, who scored the assist on the historic goal, said postgame. “It’s just been a big, big bright spot in my life. Being able to be here with him, watch him do what he does, and be a part of it in small, small ways has been very special. And (I’m) just cherishing the moments, soaking it all in. Just don’t want these moments to end.”
“I think it’s definitely sunk in, but it’s also like, it’s crazy,” John Carlson added. “I would say it’s when you’re not in the moment, you expect him to score all the time. So you’re not surprised by anything that he’s done.”
Ovechkin made history when he bested Gretzky’s record last spring, but he broke new ground Wednesday night, becoming the first ever player to score 900 goals.
“I think a couple of days ago, somebody asked me ‘Do you think about it?’ Of course,” Ovechkin said postgame. “It’s a huge number. No one ever did it in NHL history. And to be the first player to ever do it, it’s a special moment. So yeah, it’s nice. It’s over. It’s nice to get it at home so the fans and family can be here, and yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
“900 goals in NHL — it’s hard enough to score one but 900 in this league is just truly amazing,” Carbery added. “40 years old, doing the things that he’s doing, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
The milestone goal didn’t come easy. Now age 40, Ovechkin got off to a slow start this season, scoring just twice in his first 12 games. He spent four games without a goal after scoring no. 899 on October 24, one of the longer gaps before a milestone goal in his career. And the Capitals as a whole had largely failed to find the back of the net in recent days.
“We’re all struggling,” Ovechkin told reporters on Monday. “But overall, we just have to stick to the plan and keep moving, and eventually you will score.”
He was right.
Ovechkin’s 895th goal came via his signature move: a power-play slapshot from the left circle that’s become his trademark. Goal no. 900 came in much stranger fashion when he scored on a no-look bounce, getting the puck off the boards before beating St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington on his backhand.
“It was a muffin, but I’ll take it,” Ovechkin told Monumental Sports Networks’ Al Koken.
Carbery offered a more generous take on the play.
“I think that’s among many qualities that he’s demonstrated over his career as a goal scorer: the different ways that he scored,” he said. “There’s just another example of just finding ways to score goals. Pucks hit things, it gets thrown to the net, and the next thing you know, it’s in the back of the net, and he’s got 900 goals in NHL.”
After the game, the Capitals still struggled to fully wrap their heads around the magnitude of Ovechkin’s accomplishment. Multiple players — including Ovechkin — said it’d take them until retirement to fully comprehend what they’ve witnessed.
“I know it seems like, after the rodeo that we’ve been on the last year or two, you get numb to it, but then it’s just — I don’t know,” Carlson said. “You think about it; it’s just incredible what he’s done. Being alongside him for so long, you’ve seen just so many milestones that it’s insane. But just the history that will maybe never be touched again. So it’s extremely cool and special to be a part of it, to be playing in the games, to all the rest of it. These are moments that, when everybody’s done and retired, you’ll remember these ones a lot more than a lot of other things.”
Players rarely speak of legacies, especially their own, before they’ve hung up their skates, keeping focused on the games ahead of them. But days like Wednesday made the Capitals look into the future, imagining the stories they’ll tell about the glory days long after their careers come to a close.
“Looking back probably one day when I’ve got kids and they’re obsessed with the game…I think that’s when it’ll be really, really cool for them to see the photos of me and O, like the one we just took, and see the highlights of his goals and me on the ice,” Chychrun said.
Ovechkin has now gone where no one has gone before. There’s no number left to chase, no stone left unturned. But as he watches the twilight of his career from the mountaintop, Ovechkin is still thinking about the next goal.
“I’m still playing, but when I’m done playing, of course I’m going to think about it,” he said. “And lots of guys on the bench said ‘900, that’s very special.’ But I’m still playing, still lots of games left, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
