Game by game, Alex Ovechkin is chipping away at Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal-scoring record.
Now with 879 career goals, 16 away from surpassing Gretzky, he’ll look to keep it going when the Washington Capitals host the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday afternoon.
Ovechkin has scored in four straight games to bring his season total to 26, putting him on pace for 45 goals. Should he keep that pace, it would be the 14th time in his 20 NHL seasons that he’s reached the 40-goal mark. His 0.68 goals-per-game rate this season is the fifth highest of his NHL career — and he’s doing this at 39 years old.
Washington coach Spencer Carbery believes there’s even more to come from his captain, who missed 16 games with a broken leg from mid-November to late December.
“I think his best hockey is to come in the season,” Carbery said. “… In my head, at 39 years old, missing that amount of time and trying to come back and get caught up in the National Hockey League. I think that’s really, really hard, and I saw a difference in his individual game. I think he’s going to look even better coming out of the break.”
The Capitals head into Sunday’s tilt with a chance to tie the Winnipeg Jets for first place overall in the NHL. They’re coming off a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, stretching their point streak to five games (3-0-2).
Sunday will be the final game for both teams ahead of the league’s pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which runs from Wednesday through Feb. 20. The Capitals are one of two teams without any representation at the tournament.
“A mental break is enormous for us at this point in the year,” defenseman John Carlson said. “Guys that are a little banged up and injured, it’ll help them too. But mostly the way I look at it is just the mental. Kind of get away from the day-to-day stuff and come back re-energized and invigorated to finish the year strong.”
Utah arrives in the nation’s capital looking to bounce back after a 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. It dropped the club back to the NHL’s version of .500 on the season, where it has been for most of the campaign.
Despite the middling record, Utah is eight points shy of the second wild-card spot from the Western Conference.
“I liked our determination on offense, I like the way we competed on offense,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I think we were too short on detail defensively. All in all, we gave up too much on offense for them.”
It’s been a struggle offensively this season for forward Lawson Crouse, who sits at 12 points (eight goals, four assists) through 54 games. He’s on pace for just 12 goals after surpassing 20 in each of the past three seasons.
The Utah alternate captain was scratched Tuesday against the Flyers before re-entering the lineup Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored just his second goal in the past 15 games.
“I hold myself to a higher level and standard,” Crouse said of being scratched. “… Obviously, it’s unfortunate but I’ve got to play better. It’s on me.”
–Field Level Media
