Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky set to head west

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin is headed for Hollywood within single digits of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record.

Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net with 1:29 remaining in the Washington Capitals’ 4-2 win against the Seattle Kraken at Capital One Arena on Sunday, moving him within nine of breaking Gretzky’s League record of 894. The attention surrounding the 39-year-old left wing’s “GR8 Chase” is about the reach a fever pitch with the Capitals embarking on a three-game California road trip, which will begin at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, MNMT, KCOP-13, SNW, SNO, SNE).

Washington also visits the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday during a trip where all eyes will be on Ovechkin.

“It's going to be a movie,” Capitals defenseman John Carlson said.

What kind of movie?

“Sports documentary,” Carlson said.

Ovechkin wasn’t ready to talk postgame about being ready for his close-up in the state where Gretzky’s impact is still felt. The trade that sent Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to Los Angeles in 1988 opened the gateway for the NHL to add expansion teams in Anaheim and San Jose.

And, of course, Gretzky was playing for the Kings when he passed Gordie Howe for what was then the NHL goals record, scoring his 802nd goal against the Vancouver Canucks at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California, on March 23, 1994.

The Kings play at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles now, but Ovechkin will still have a chance to climb closer to Gretzky on what used to be his home turf.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing, honestly, that we’re going out to California, because I think (it’s) a good opportunity to get away from home,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Play three games out there, they’re spaced out as well with days in between, so it will be good to get out there.”

Through the first two periods on Sunday, it appeared Ovechkin wasn’t going to move closer to Gretzky. The Capitals struggled for much of the game, and Ovechkin didn’t have many good chances, with only two shots on goal through 40 minutes.

When Ovechkin and the Capitals found their game in the third, Kraken goalie Joey Daccord was there to stop him each time.

But with Connor McMichael scoring on a redirection to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 15:44, that opened the door for Ovechkin to add another empty-net goal to his total. Desperate for the tying goal, the Kraken pulled Daccord for an extra attacker with 1:43 remaining and Ovechkin already on the ice. Ovechkin then backhanded the puck into the vacated net from the neutral zone only 14 seconds later, bringing chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” from the crowd.

It was the 65th empty-net goal of Ovechkin’s career, adding to his NHL record, and his 1,600th NHL point, making him the 11th player in League history to reach that milestone.

“Obviously, we're playing against really good teams right now and the chances are tightening up,” Capitals center Dylan Strome said. “He's still getting a couple of looks here and there, but he's finding ways to score. It's what he's done his whole career and especially this year. He's getting to the right areas. And obviously, when the goalie is pulled, we're all thinking it. I'm sure everyone else is thinking it, too. It's still a pretty skilled play to go backhand through a guy's leg or stick and find a way to score that.

“Nine more.”

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma had hoped to avoid seeing another Ovechkin goal, saying before the game, “You fear his shot any time he gets the puck on his stick, and I don’t need to see it tonight.”

Bylsma had seen Ovechkin score a few at his team’s expense during his six seasons as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009-2014). He also witnessed Gretzky up close for four games as his teammate as an NHL rookie with the Kings in 1995-96.

Like pretty much everyone else, Bylsma figured no one was going to get close to 894 goals.

“We all put it in the category of, ‘Well, that’s never going to be reached,’” Bylsma said. “But Ovechkin has been scoring 50 goals (a season) for an awful long time now. The number is what the number is, but I think what Alex has done is he’s going to be the greatest goal-scorer of all time. Whether he gets the number today, tomorrow or next week or next year, he’s going to go down as the greatest goal-scorer of all time because he’s done it over and over and over again.

“He’s done it for a long time and he shows no signs of stopping. So, it’s just a matter of time now that he will get the mark and officially take the mark as the greatest goal-scorer of all time.”

In his 20th NHL season, Ovechkin leads Washington and is tied for fourth in the NHL with 33 goals in 49 games. The Capitals (42-14-8), who have won four in a row, are tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the League standings, making a run at adding another Stanley Cup championship to Ovechkin's legacy feel like a realistic goal.

But before the Capitals and everyone else turns the page to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s record is going to be one of the biggest stories in sports. Perhaps, as Carlson suggested, one worthy of a movie.

California is the next stop on the ride.

“You just can never underestimate what he's capable of doing,” Carbery said of Ovechkin. “So, good time to go out west.”