Alexander Ovechkin returned to the Washington Capitals and immediately became one of the heroes of the day in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He scored two points in the first leg after being suspended and brought the team a win over arch-rival Boston Bruins.

At the same time, the Russian hockey player continued to climb up the list of the best snipers in the history of the league and the authors of winning goals.

Ovechkin was suspended from training and matches for violating the coronavirus protection protocol.

Together with him, three more Russian players were quarantined: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov.

All of them had to miss at least four meetings.

Fortunately for the team, the absence of a whole group of leaders did not greatly affect its results - Washington lost only one point, losing on shootouts to the Buffalo Sabers, and won the other three matches.

The Capitals, even in the absence of Ovechkin, remained the leader of the Eastern Division.

But the team clearly couldn't win all the time without the four main players.

In addition, on January 30 and February 1, she was to meet with one of the leaders of the Boston division, who had a four-game winning streak.

By the time they arrived in Washington, the Bruins were finally joined by their main star David Pastrnyak, who hadn't played for a long time due to hip surgery.

But during the morning roll-out before the match, Washington fans learned the good news.

Ovechkin and Orlov trained with the team, which meant they could return to the squad.

The defender, however, never came out on the ice, but the team captain took advantage of this chance.

“Of course it sucks to miss four games.

Nobody wants to be disqualified.

Nobody wants to put themselves in this position.

But it’s over, so I’ll learn my lesson and move on.

Do you agree with the NHL protocol?

Rules are rules, ”Ovechkin said ahead of his first match in 10 days.

The home team started the match against Boston quite confidently.

They led the meeting to the equator with a score of 3: 0.

Ovechkin did not go out on the ice too often and in half an hour of playing time was marked with only one power move and a shot on goal, but then helped the team to throw the third puck in the majority.

The Russian hockey player gave a pass, with which Richard Panik distinguished himself.

For Ovechkin, this was the first point after returning to the ice.

But further in the match, everything turned upside down.

“Boston” managed to score three goals and turned the game into overtime.

The guests scored their third goal at the last minute, playing with six field players.

Charlie McAvoy pushed the puck into the goal, and Pastrnyak was one of his assistants.

By the time extra time began, Ovechkin had almost stopped appearing on the ice.

In the last 14 minutes of the third period, he skated for only 103 seconds.

But this did not prevent him from returning after the break and immediately decide the outcome of the match in his favor.

At the 28th second of overtime, Ovechkin entered the zone and delivered an accurate shot, which brought victory to Washington in this difficult match.

"It was fun.

It was interesting to see how I would feel after the morning session, warm-up and during the match.

So ... We won, we move on, "Ovechkin said after the match.

Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette highlighted Ovechkin's contribution to the bottom line.

He noted that he is always glad to see such throws in his performance.

“He has an incredible career.

It's how he shoots the puck.

A goal in overtime is a great example.

He gives the shot a strong impulse and throws the puck like a sling.

It wasn't one of his powerful one-touch shots, he accelerated and gave the puck speed.

He has been doing this his entire career.

I used to watch from afar, but now it's nice to be a part of it myself, ”Laviolette admitted.

Interestingly, almost simultaneously with Ovechkin, two more strikers from other clubs scored in overtime.

A minute before the Russians, Sidney Crosby brought the Pittsburgh Penguins victory, and 11 minutes later, Edmonton Oilers striker Connor McDavid scored.

All three were eventually named the main stars of the day, and the Washington player took second place among them.

Ovechkin's goal not only brought victory to Washington, but also brought it closer to Wayne Gretzky's record for goals scored in the NHL (894).

Now the Russian has 708 goals in his career.

He has risen to seventh place on the list of the best snipers, equal to former Capitals player Mike Gartner.

"He's a Washington DC and league legend, so I'm pleased to catch up with him, but there's still a long way to go," Ovechkin said.

Also, the striker came out on to a clean fourth place in winning goals in the NHL.

Thanks to Ovechkin, Washington have already won 111 matches.

More often than not, only Phil Esposito (118), Gordy Howe (120) and the leader of this rating Jaromir Jagr (135) made the winning throws.