Alexander Ovechkin entered Friday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets one goal short of tying the legendary Gordie Howe for second on the all-time list. In the first period, he tied Howe, scoring his 801st career goal. Later in the game, he passed Howe, finding the back of the net for the 802nd time in his career.
With Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals up 3-1 in the game’s final minutes, Winnipeg pulled its goalie, David Rittich, for the extra attacker. Ovechkin got control of the puck and skated into his offensive zone. He initially seemed reluctant to shoot at the empty net, passing the puck to Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov, though, quickly got the puck back to Ovechkin, who then scored the history-making goal.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 801st goal earlier in Friday's game, tying Gordie Howe for second all-time. Now, he's passed him. Only Wayne Gretzky is ahead of him.pic.twitter.com/9j0DEZlE19
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 24, 2022
Ovechkin celebrated the moment with family. Tarik El-Bashir of the Athletic tweeted out a photo of Ovechkin with his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, who were holding the pucks for the 801st and 802nd goals.
Alex Ovechkin with sons Sergei and Ilya…and pucks Nos. 801 and 802. #Caps pic.twitter.com/Z7JZ8Pi9Km
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) December 24, 2022
Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington added that in addition to players from both teams, Mark Howe, the son of the iconic Mr. Hockey, congratulated Ovechkin.
“Gordie Howe’s son Mark congratulated Alex Ovechkin on passing his father with 802 career goals in a video shown on the Jumbotron. Both the Capitals and Jets lined up to high five him after the game. He skated around the ice to a standing ovation. What a moment.”
Gordie Howe’s son Mark congratulated Alex Ovechkin on passing his father with 802 career goals in a video shown on the Jumbotron. Both the Capitals and Jets lined up to high five him after the game. He skated around the ice to a standing ovation. What a moment.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) December 24, 2022
Ovechkin now trails only Wayne Gretzky for No. 1 on the all-time list. If Ovechkin is going to pass Gretzky, it won’t be for a while, as he’s still 92 goals short of the Great One.
