The captain of Washington reached a historic milestone. The forward scored his 900th career goal in NHL regular season games. This goal brought Washington a victory in a home game against St. Louis (6:1).
Exactly 900
The moment happened at the third minute of the second period. Ovechkin checked Blues goalie Jordan Binnington behind his net.
The goaltender took too long to clear the puck, the forward intercepted it and passed back, and Jacob Chychrun took a shot from the far slot but missed the net. Alexander picked up the rebound off the boards on the right side, turned around, and shot from a sharp angle with his backhand — and scored.
Ovechkin celebrated in his signature style by going down on one knee and sliding toward the glass. The crowd at the Capital One Arena jumped to their feet, and among the spectators were the Russian's family — wife Nastasia, sons Sergei and Ilya, and mother Tatyana. The Capitals' mascot flipped the scoreboard from 8-9-9 to 9-0-0.
The entire team gathered around the captain on the ice. A microphone on Alexander captured the enthusiastic cheers, words of gratitude to his teammates, and their congratulations. The forward also asked his center Dylan Strome about the historic puck.
The Hidden Puck
While the Washington players were celebrating, Binnington pulled the puck out of the net and hid it under his shorts. Linesman Michel Cormier noticed the goaltender's attempt to deny the sniper his valuable souvenir and made him return it.
Known for his antics, the goalie complied with the request, so Ovechkin's large collection would not miss another valuable addition.
During the next television timeout, the arena showed a tribute video for the captain. Fans again stood up, gave an ovation while chanting “Ovi!” and received a thank you from the sniper in return. Match commentator Craig Laughlin noted: “It’s hard to believe he has 900 goals. Now we want 1000, Ovi. That’s what we want!”
Ovechkin's goal was the second and winning one for Washington in the game.
Beer Shower
In the locker room, Ovechkin was greeted with a small beer shower from assistant captain John Carlson, new congratulations from the team with Washington owner Ted Leonsis, and hugs from his family.
A more significant celebration will take place later, as the Capitals have a game scheduled tomorrow — an away match against Pittsburgh. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby smiled as he mentioned that someone might wish to see that very Ovi goal against a rival, but that storyline will not happen.
