Alex Ovechkin inches closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, expressing confidence and strength with every game played.
Coaching Alex Ovechkin for three seasons has made Peter Laviolette accustomed to his intense chase of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record, and he isn’t slowing down.
“Not a crazy thing at all, I don’t see him slowing down.” : Laviolette said before his New York Rangers faced Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Ovechkin netted the fifth goal in a 7-4 victory to reach No. 872 and close the gap to 23 from surpassing Gretzky’s seemingly unreachable record of 894. He has scored four times in five matches since returning after missing the last 16 due to a broken leg.
“It’s incredible, Ever since I was a kid, I grew up watching him do all these amazing things, and now to have a front-row seat to him doing something really special has been awesome. He’s been helping our team win night in and night out, so I can’t say enough good things about him.” : teammate Connor McMichael said.
Ovechkin is just one goal shy of accomplishing 20 goals in each of his 20 seasons in the league. The fractured left fibula stalled the Gretzky pursuit, yet the 39-year-old has made a fierce comeback.
“To be honest with you, I feel every game better — touches, skating wise, I’ll take it.” : Ovechkin said.
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Center Dylan Strome, who has contributed to 14 of Ovechkin’s 19 goals, remarked, “It just feels like he gets on these runs.”
Due to these performances, Ovechkin is still on track to surpass Gretzky this spring. Laviolette, the coach of Washington from 2021 to 2023, lauded Ovechkin’s shot as the finest globally but highlighted his work ethic more than anything else to clarify how the scoring has persisted.
“He’s a guy that just doesn’t stop, He wants to get better. He’s going to play hurt. He’s going to play injured. He’s going to get out there (and) he’s going to try and make a difference for his team.” : Laviolette said.
Image Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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