Washington Capitals captain opened the score in the 24th second of the match. Conor Sheary shot on goal, but Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek deflected the puck. On the first rebound, it was Washington defender John Carlson who passed the ball to Ovechkin, who kicked the goalie for a dime.
Rus opened the score for the 136th time in his career, a new NHL record. Previously, the legendary Czech Jaromir Jagr (135) was the leader in this indicator.
Also, Ovechkin scored 12 times in the first minute of the match, the third-highest in history. More often than not the Great Eight at the start of the match, only Sidney Crosby (14) and Mark Messier (13) differed.
Eight minutes later, Ovechkin scored a double (2:0). “Washington” won the majority, and the Russian competently waited for his moment on the penny, pushing the puck into the net after Conor Sheary’s pass.
Chicago scored a goal at the end of the first period (2:1), but at the start of the second period Capitals had a comfortable two-goal advantage (3:1) thanks to Ovechkin’s help.
The Russian shot into Mrazek’s goal, and Washington defender Trevor van Riemsdyk clearly rebounded.
Thus, Ovechkin scored the third point in the game, making it his 644th (!) career assist.
The highlight of the match took place in the third period – Great Eight scored a hat-trick. The Russian player rolled into the net just in time and sent the puck into the goal when the chaos created by Anthony Manta and Evgeny Kuznetsov distracted the “Chicago” defense.
After that Ovechkin angrily “Yes!” throughout the arena – reached 800 career goals. Previously, only two actors managed to conquer such success – Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894).
The entire team poured onto the ice to congratulate the Russians, and according to tradition, the fans filled the ice with hats in honor of the hat-trick, and Chicago fans rejoiced at the historic event no less than Washington fans.
“The Chicago fans were great,” Ovechkin said after the game. “They called my name and scooped it up on the ice. They followed me and wanted to see this historical moment. Even during the warm-ups, I could feel their energy.”
The general celebrations interrupted the game for about six minutes – there was indeed a lot of reason to celebrate.
1. Ovechkin scored three goals in one game for the first time against Chicago – this is the 18th team from a Russian to suffer so much.
2. Ovechkin is the first player in NHL history to score 800 goals for a single club.
Second place is Gordie Howe (786 goals for Detroit) and third place is Mario Lemieux (690 goals for Pittsburgh). Wayne Gretzky is only fourth with 626 goals for Edmonton.
3. Ovechkin opened the score for the 66th time in an away game, breaking Brett Hull’s record for this indicator.
4. Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in 18 consecutive seasons. First place is Gordie Howe (22 seasons), second place is Brendan Shanahan (19 seasons).
5. Ovechkin moved up to sixth place in NHL history with 29 goals, three goals. There are only five players who beat him: Wayne Gretzky (50), Mario Lemieux (40), Mike Bossy (39), Brett Hull (33) and Phil Esposito (32).
6. Ovechkin is second in total NHL regular season and playoff goals with 872 goals. Only Gretzky is ahead with 1,016 goals.
“Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky are the best company you can be in when you start playing hockey,” the Russian player said after the match. – It’s a special evening. I only have two goals left to beat Howe.”
There is no doubt that Gordie Howe’s NHL regular season (801) goal record will be smashed by the Big Eight in the coming games. What about Gretzky’s “eternal record” (894)?
Ovechkin currently averages 0.60 goals per game, a pace that has remained consistent throughout his career.
If the Russian driver manages to maintain such stability, he will surpass Gretzky’s success in the first half of the 2024/25 season. Ovechkin’s contract runs until the summer of 2026, so he has plenty of time.
Age is unlikely to interfere much with the Big Eight: 30 years later he has already scored 325 goals and is not slowing down at all.
Not surprisingly, 37-year-old Ovechkin played a key role in Chicago’s 7-3 rout and was named the NHL’s first star of the day.