"Does something special every time": Ovechkin scored four points and entered the top five scorers in NHL history

The beginning of the new, 17th season for Alexander Ovechkin in the NHL turned out to be outstanding for him.

The 36-year-old Russian scored two goals, assisted partners the same number of times and helped the Washington Capitals defeat the New York Rangers at home stadium - 5: 1.

At the same time, until the last moment, the participation of the striker in the meeting was under a big question because of the injury to the little finger, received in the control confrontation with Philadelphia.

But he not only managed to recover and spent more than 20 minutes on the ice in total, but also became the first star of the entire playing day.

At first, the captain limited himself to assists.

So, they, together with Evgeny Kuznetsov, helped open an account in the fifth minute to T.J. Oshi.

And then the domestic team created a goal in the middle of the second period for Justin Schultz.

By the way, Kuznetsov himself also played an excellent game and scored an assistant hat-trick.

Well, Ovechkin got down to business already in the final 20-minute.

The teams did not have time to return to the site, as the "capital" realized the majority.

Alexander, after the transfer of Anthony Manta, struck a powerful corporate click under the crossbar, which compatriot Alexander Georgiev had no chance to cope with.

And in the end, Peter Lavioletta's wards excelled in the minority. The forward, taking advantage of a successful rebound from the side, easily outplayed the goalkeeper. Thus, the Russian not only scored two effective shots and started the season well, but also entered the top five scorers in the history of the league with 732 goals. He managed to bypass the legendary Marcel Dionne. It is curious that immediately after the second goal of the Russian on the video cube "Capital One Arena" included the speech of the winner of the Canada Cup - 1976 with congratulations. The stands also gave a standing ovation to the athlete. Ovechkin got up from the bench in gratitude and thanked everyone present.

Now in the sniper race, the Washington captain is second only to Brett Hull (741), Jaromir Jagr (766), Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894). It is noteworthy that the latter, after the end of the meeting, even interviewed the Russian for TNT Network.

Along the way, the domestic hockey player established several more notable statistical achievements. Firstly, he became only the second player to continue his career in the NHL, who managed to score 500 points in the majority within the league. Previously, Joe Thornton crossed this bar. Secondly, he is only the fourth person to score two or more goals in 150 games in a tournament. Leading him on this indicator are Mario Lemieux (154), Hull (158) and Gretzky (189). Third, Ovechkin scored more than one goal for the fourth time in the opening match of the regular season. More often only Dionne (five) was able to do this. Finally, the Russian scored in the minority for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

“I'm just having fun.

Of course, being on the list of the best snipers in the history of the NHL is a great honor, but, as I always say, the game follows the game, and day after day, ”the official website of the league quotes the striker.

But, perhaps, the most unexpected gift the veteran received from partner Hendrix Lapierre.

In the locker room, he handed the captain an ax.

The presentation is part of the team's new tradition.

After the end of each game, this item will be received by the person who showed himself best in the attack.

At the same time, the hockey player who made the most of the rest of the efforts in defense receives a shield.

By the way, 19-year-old Lapierre himself scored a goal in his debut match in the NHL.

However, the main topic for discussion was still Ovechkin's excellent game.

For example, Laviolette called the last days "difficult" for the star ward and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that he showed himself so brightly, despite the unpleasant injury.

“It's very important that Ovi beat Dionne's achievement.

Especially considering the week he had.

Not a good week to get ready for the premiere and help the team.

Many questions arose.

They stayed even in the morning before the match.

But Ovechkin goes out on the ice and again becomes the most important factor for us.

I have been working here quite recently, but it seems to me that every evening we celebrate some "anniversary" of Ovechkin.

He does something special every time.

And this evening we witnessed another great achievement, ”said the Washington mentor.

In turn, Capitals striker Oshi stressed that the very moments of the game with a hockey player of this level should be appreciated.

“Sometimes you seem to take his goals for granted.

But when you see these numbers, you realize how many goals he scored.

In the history of the league, there were enough cool hockey players who could not even come close to such statistics, although they played a lot of matches.

And this feeling does not cool down, it is something special when you are Ovechkin's teammate, and he passes all the milestones.

I joke in conversation with him that I want to tell my grandchildren that I played with the Great Eight.

And it's true!

It is a great honor for me to go out on the ice next to such a legend, ”the athlete rejoiced.