The Washington Capitals welcomed the Chicago Blackhawks to Capital One Arena on Friday night with all eyes squarely pointed toward Washington’s Captain, Alex Ovechkin, as he entered the contest three goals shy of setting a new all-time goals record. With the current record holder, Wayne Gretzky, present in Washington, D.C., Ovechkin’s two goals rewarded ticket holders with a legendary scene as the Capitals battled the Blackhawks to a 5-3 victory.
Ovechkin’s 40th goal of the season represented the opening score of the contest. Washington’s superstar received a pass from Dylan Strome before Ovechkin’s wrist shot collided with both posts and bounced into the net behind Chicago’s goalie, Spencer Knight. The goal came 3:52 into the first period, and the resulting buzz in the crowd persisted for the remainder of the period. The first-period tally was Ovechkin’s 242nd career first-period goal, passing Gretzky for most in NHL history. According to NHL.com Live Stats, Ovechkin is only the second player age 39 or older to score 40 goals in a season. Gordie Howe scored 44 goals in 1968-69 at age 40.
Ten minutes after Washington’s opening tally, Blackhawks winger Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game at one. He was the beneficiary of a good cycle play, which was followed by a fortuitous bounce at the side of the net that allowed Landon Slaggert to slide the puck across the crease to Bertuzzi to dunk into the net for the Blackhawks’ first goal of the game. The game entered the first intermission tied at one.
Chicago’s Frank Nazar unlocked the tie with a goal 31 seconds into the second period. The 21-year-old winger located some open space in the offensive zone and received a pass from newcomer Oliver Moore before Nazar fired a snapshot that beat Washington’s Charlie Lindgren for a 2-1 Blackhawks lead. Moore recorded the primary assist on the goal for his first NHL point in his third professional game.
Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary tied the game at the 7:09 mark of the middle frame on a wrist shot that trickled through Knight and across the thin red line. Defense partner John Carlson picked up an assist on the goal for his second point of the evening. The longtime Capital blueliner tied Mathieu Schneider for sixth all-time with his 158th career multi-point game. Mark Howe would be the next name on the list with 183 multi-point games.
The Blackhawks interrupted the party atmosphere once again with a Philipp Kurashev goal 10 seconds after Fehervary’s score for a 3-2 Chicago lead at the 7:19 mark of the second period. Kurashev stuffed a loose rebound past Lindgren after the Capitals goalie made the stop on a Slaggert deflection but could not control the rebound. Chicago entered the second intermission holding a 3-2 advantage.
Washington tied the game at three on an own goal from Chicago’s Connor Murphy after the defenseman whacked a bouncing puck past his own netminder early in the third period. Dylan Strome was credited with his 25th goal of the season on the play. The 28-year-old forward continues to add to a career-high 75 points in 76 games during his third season with the Capitals.
Three minutes later, Ovechkin raised the Capital One Arena crowd to its feet again with a classic one-timer goal from his power play office for his 41st goal of the season and a 4-3 Washington lead. With his 894th regular-season goal, he tied Gretzky for the most all-time in NHL regular-season history in one fewer game played at 1,486 NHL games. While Ovechkin tied Gretzky with his goal tonight, he broke a tie with former teammate Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals with 136.
Related: Alex Ovechkin Scores Goal No. 894, Tying Wayne Gretzky’s Record
Ovechkin had one late chance to break Gretzky’s record on a breakaway, but Washington’s star was unable to get a shot off against Knight late in the third period. Ryan Leonard sealed the game with an empty-net goal for his first NHL goal in front of the game’s most legendary goalscorers. Washington won its 49th game of the season and improved to 105 points this season to keep pace with the Winnipeg Jets (108 points) and Dallas Stars (104) in the NHL Presidents’ Trophy race for the 2024-25 season.
Ovechkin’s next chance to break Gretzky’s goal-scoring record comes this weekend. On Sunday afternoon, Washington visits the New York Islanders at UBS Arena at 12:30 pm EST as Ovechkin will have his eyes set on claiming one of the NHL’s most immortal records. Washington has six games remaining in the 2024-25 NHL season.
