Last night’s crazy 7-5 Capitals victory over the Senators in Ottawa included two more goals by Capitals’ captain Alex Ovechkin. It marks Ovechkin’s 736th and 737th career goals, leaving him five goals shy of passing Brett Hull (741g) for the fourth-most goals in NHL history.
His seven goals so far this season lead the NHL. His 12 points rank second in the league, trailing only Connor McDavid by one point (6g-7a-13p).
Ovechkin’s first tally of the night came late in the second period to give the Capitals a 5-4 lead. With the goal, Ovechkin passed Stan Mikita for the 2nd most career road points recorded by a European-born player in NHL regular season history (645. Most: 855- Jaromir Jagr)
The man is on a mission pic.twitter.com/319p1x6lgs
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 26, 2021
His second goal came midway through the third period. It marks Ovechkin’s second multi-goal game of the season and the 151st of his career, which ranks fourth in NHL history (Mario Lemieux: 154; Brett Hull: 158; Wayne Gretzky: 189).
The pass AND the finish 🤌 pic.twitter.com/yVFpWT4nIv
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 26, 2021
Ovechkin met with the media following the game and summarized the game in his typical succinct fashion.
“Fun game for fans. Lots of goals. Lots of action. So we’ll take those two points and move forward.”
Prior to the game, Senators head coach D.J. Smith was asked about how the Senators would go about stopping Ovechkin. His pregame assessment was spot-on.
“D.J. Smith on Ovie: “That’s been a decade long question: How do people shut this guy down? There’s no answer, he continues to score at a violent pace. He’s got five goals in five games. If someone had that answer they’d be hired all over the league they’d be a genius.” #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 25, 2021
The Capitals have the day off on Tuesday and return to the ice Wednesday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for just after 7:00 PM.
By Jon Sorensen
