It took five games, but Alex Ovechkin is finally on the board in the 2023-24 season.
After pumping 12 shots on goal in the previous 39 minutes and 48 seconds, Ovechkin broke through on lucky shot number 13, steering in a wide-open look in front of the net on the power play. John Carlson and Tom Wilson collected the assists.
The goal was Ovechkin’s 823rd of his illustrious career and his 300th on the power play — the most in NHL history.
The 300th power-play goal of Alex Ovechkin's career! 🤯
📺: @espn & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l pic.twitter.com/TK0tQdzIoI
— NHL (@NHL) October 24, 2023
Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll became the 170th goaltender Ovechkin has scored on, surrendering a goal to The Great Eight in the first game he faced him.
Earlier in the night, Ovechkin tallied a figurative assist, helping Leah Hextall get back into her perch between the benches. Ovechkin also set an early-season record in 2023-24, posting seven shots by himself in the first period. Per ESPN, that was the most shots a player has fired in a single stanza thus far.
Ovechkin now trails Wayne Gretzky for the NHL goals record by 71.
The Capitals tweeted that Ovechkin’s power-play goal was the franchise’s 3,000th ever.
Ovechkin has scored 10.0 percent of the power-play goals in franchise history. That's the third-highest percentage in NHL history among players with at least 40 power-play goals with one franchise (Teemu Selanne, Anaheim: 12.20%; Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay: 11.56%).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 24, 2023
