In their final game before Christmas, the Washington Capitals defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 to secure their fourth-consecutive victory and sent Caps fans home feeling an abundance of holiday cheer. Oh, and Alex Ovechkin scored the 801st and 802nd goals of his prolific career — moving him past “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe for the second-most goals in NHL history.
Ovechkin now stands just 92 goals away from tying the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals. A record that was once considered untouchable now seems shockingly within reach for the 37-year-old left wing.
“It’s nice to get it done at home, in front of our house, family, our friends — obviously fans,” said Ovechkin. “It’s a big thing.”
Forward Sonny Milano and center Nic Dowd also scored for Washington, which has now won nine of their last 10 games thanks in large part to The Great 8. Ovechkin opened up the scoring with his 21st goal of the season with roughly 90 seconds left to play in the first period and then found the back of the net once more with exactly 60 seconds left in regulation.
In a moment of absolutely class and a massive sign of respect, the entire Jets bench took to the ice once the game ended to congratulate Ovechkin. It was basically the NHL’s vaunted postseason hand-shake line … but only for Alex. Clearly that isn’t something you see every day, but then again, no one ever thought a modern-day player would assault the goal-scoring list with such precision and malice. Unprecedented times clearly call for unprecedented measures.