Alex Ovechkin links Gretzky’s record for most ONH objectives: NPR

Washington – Alex Ovechkin entered the match on Friday evening three shy goals in the magic number that took advantage of this hockey season: 895. Two goals would equalize the former 894 record, in 1999 by the Grand Wayne Gretzky. A third would break it.

For the moment, however, a new record will have to wait: Ovechin has scored two goals and now shares the record with Gretzky. Washington’s capital still have six games this regular season.

At 39, Ovechkin’s prosecution on the Gretzky goals record drew the attention of the world of hockey – and the presence of Gretzky himself to the capital Onena of Washington on Friday evening.

Ovechkin’s first goal of the night was not even four minutes after the match, only one in front of the net of a pass from his teammate Dylan Strome. Then his second was marked on a power game in the third period. Subsequently, while the crowd was roaring and his teammates hit their sticks on the boards, Ovechkin turned around the ice under the spotlight.

The 41 goals of Ovechkin this season are tied to the second largest number of the League – even if it was sidelined for a month after having broken the leg in collision with an opponent in a match in November.

And almost all other players in the ranking are a decade younger than Ovechkin, whose longevity and consistency have put it on a level than few other players can claim. For most players, scoring 40 or more goals in a single season would be a strong career moment – for Ovechkin, it’s his 14th season. He is the first player in NHL history to total at least three seasons of 40 goals at the age of 35 or more.

Gretzky said for the first time the goals record in 1994, when he went beyond the former Gordie Howe record of 801. Gretzky then played for five more seasons, finally retired in 1999 with a total career of 894 goals.

Like many Gretzky records, the goals’ record was once considered untouchable.

Ovechkin was drafted by Washington’s capital in 2004. He was a marker from the start, leading the league in goals in nine different seasons. But where the rating capacity of hockey players fade over the years, Ovechkin has continued to score. And finally, commentators and fans wondered if Gretzky’s record could be in sight.

“When I broke Gordie’s record, my father said to me the same evening:” You would be as proud as the guy who broke your record “,” said Gretzky on Friday. “It was really a wonderful trip for everyone.”

“From Beliveau to Howe, Orr, Lemieux, Messier, you send it,” he said. “If someone broke Alex’s record, I hope that Alex is there to shake his hand. But right now, I hope that Alex appreciates it. And he deserves all the credit and the distinctions he obtains.”