Alex Ovechkin broke one NHL record and in the process moved one step closer to another Thursday night.
The Washington Capitals star broke the record for all-time goaltenders, defeating Levi Mirilainen in overtime to give the Capitals a 1-0 win over the Senators in Ottawa, Ontario.
Merilainen became the 179th goalkeeper to score against Ovechkin, breaking a tie with Jaromir Jagr at the top of the professional list.
Ovechkin’s goal came on his third shot on the net and his fifth attempt. He took a pass from Rasmus Sandin on a 2-on-1 breakaway and fired it past Mairilainen.
Ovechkin raised his arms and pumped his fist before his teammates attacked him. It was his 27th overtime goal of his career, extending his record. Sidney Crosby comes in second with 22.
“I knew I had to hit the ball as quickly as possible because I thought he might be thinking I was going to pass it back to Sandy,” Ovechkin said.
“It was a good idea, and it was in, so I’ll take it.”
Mirilainen, a 22-year-old rookie from Finland, appeared in his eighth league match.
“You have to know that when he’s on the ice he’s going to shoot everything like he did today,” Mierilainen said.
Naturally, Ovechkin is aiming to achieve a greater record, the number of goals scored by Wayne Gretzky in his career. At 874, he is 21 points away from surpassing Gretzky’s mark of 894 that has seemed out of reach for a long time.
The 39-year-old winger is on pace to reach 895 and beyond this spring.
Earlier in January, Ovechkin scored for the 28th time against Marc-Andre Fleury, the best of all the goalkeepers he has faced since arriving in North America in 2005.
Thursday’s goal was the first time Ovechkin has scored in overtime during a 1-0 game in his career. It was also his 13th overtime goal of his road career, passing Jagr and John Tavares for the most goals in NHL history.
This is Ovechkin’s 21st goal of the season in only his 29th game, as he missed 16 games due to a fracture in his left leg. He has reached 20 in all of his 20 seasons in the league, including 2013 when the lockout cut the season to 48 games and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic cut the schedule to 56 games.
Information from ESPN Research and the Associated Press was used in this report.
