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Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin moved closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring mark on Tuesday with a trick against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ovechkin’s three goals gave him 800 for his career. He is one goal away from tying Gordie Howe for second on the list and 94 goals away from reaching Gretzky’s mark.
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“Soon as it happened, kind of relief,” Ovechkin said after the Capitals’ 7-3 win over the Blackhawks. “Kind of happiness in general.”
It only took two shots for Ovechkin to get one past Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek. He scored his first goal 24 seconds into the first period. He would score his second goal at the 11:46 mark and he put through his third goal in the third period. It was his 29th career hat trick.
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“It’s a big number,” Ovechkin said. “It’s the best company (you can) ever imagine since you started playing hockey.”
Chicago fans recognized they were witnessing something they may never see again and burst out in “Ovi! Ovi!” cheers.
“Even in the warmup, I was feeling that energy right away,” Ovechkin said of the crowd. “The fans watch me and the fans want to see that historical moment.”
The next closest active scorer on the all-time list is Sidney Crosby, who has 534 goals. The two hockey superstars were No. 1 overall draft picks, Ovechkin in 2004 and Crosby in 2005.
Ovechkin is a 12-time All-Star and has nine seasons with at least 50 goals, including a career-high 65 in the 207-08 season. He had 50 goals and 40 assists in 77 games last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
