The Washington Capitals witnessed history on Thursday night when captain Alex Ovechkin recorded his 1,500th point against the Dallas Stars. With a secondary assist midway through the third period, Ovechkin became just the 16th player in league history to reach the threshold.
Ovechkin wasn’t the only Capital to achieve a milestone on the play, however. The puck soon made its way onto the stick of Dylan Strome, who sent it into the net for his 100th NHL goal.
In most cases, Strome would have retrieved the puck to mark the accomplishment. This time, however, he was more than happy to give it up.
“Yeah, I think he’ll get the puck for that,” Strome said with a laugh. “That’s okay. He made a good play to get it up there to [Anthony Mantha].”
Ovechkin became the first-ever Capital to hit 1500 points, adding another milestone to his ever-increasing tally. This achievement came amidst an uncharacteristic scoring drought for the Great Eight: he has scored 15 total points (5g, 10a) in 23 games this season. Neither the lack of scoring nor the loss, however, kept head coach Spencer Carbery from praising the feat.
“It’s huge,” Carbery said. “I mean, another example of his greatness and what he’s being able to accomplish in this league.”
“He’s a living legend,” added Strome.
Thursday night was far from the first time the Strome-Ovechkin duo connected on a goal this season. Five of Strome’s 10 goals have come off of an Ovechkin assist, and Strome returned the favor on another occasion.
Thirty-three of Strome’s career goals have come since he joined the Capitals last season, and he set a career-high in both points and goals in 2022-23. He credited that in part to Ovechkin and his influence after signing a five-year extension in February.
“Playing with number eight helps,” Strome said then. “I think we connect well together…I think just his attention to detail and the way he shoots the puck and gets open and kind of demands the best of his linemates. That’s something every player wants.”
Earlier this season, Strome once again praised Ovechkin, this time for his playmaking prowess in particular.
“He makes some great plays,” Strome said. “I think a lot of people are expecting him to shoot. [I] just try to get to the right areas. He’s been around for a long enough time and been on the ice for a lot of goals. He knows how to set up plays and knows how to score goals. So just try to get open, and he’s a very good passer as well.”
Ovechkin, in return, commended his teammates when discussing the milestone Thursday night.
“It’s a pretty cool number,” he said. “I always say, without my teammates, I would never reach it. It’s pretty cool.”
Ovechkin’s long career as a goal-scorer shone through even when the accomplishment came on an assist. His 827 total goals is the most of any player at the time of reaching 1500 points, beating the next-closest — Phil Esposito — by 146 goals.
Alex Ovechkin is the 16th player in NHL history to reach the 1,500-point milestone, but no other among the group has scored as many goals as the @Capitals captain. #NHLStats: https://t.co/4yNDe91ezQ pic.twitter.com/rtjEm5CcMR
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 8, 2023
Though Ovechkin remains 67 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s 894 total goals, he’s set yet another record along the way. And he’ll even have the puck to show for it.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
