Ovechkin, Capitals to resume play with Gretzky goals chase as main event

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The 4 Nations Face-Off is over, and the hockey world will turn its attention next to the Stanley Cup Playoff races and Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals.

Ovechkin will resume play when the Washington Capitals visit the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby (a game-time decision after returning from playing for Canada at 4 Nations) at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS) with 879 goals in his 20 NHL seasons.

At this point, it appears inevitable that Ovechkin will break the record eventually, but the 39-year-old left wing needs 16 goals in Washington’s final 27 games to do it this season.

“Everyone's excited about it, looking forward to it,” Capitals center Dylan Strome said Friday. “It's going to be tough to get it this year, but if anyone can do it, I think it's him.”

Ovechkin scored 15 goals in his final 27 games last season; not that he’s focusing on that.

When asked about the goal record when he returned spending the break in Miami, Ovechkin said it was “not at all” on his mind. If anything, though Ovechkin worked out and skated with former NHL defenseman Darius Kasparaitis to stay sharp physically, the time off served as a mental break before gearing up for the stretch drive and the playoffs.

The Capitals (36-11-8) are in a strong position, leading the Carolina Hurricanes by 10 points for first in the Metropolitan Division and the Florida Panthers by nine points for first in the Eastern Conference.

“I think everybody was kind of like tired, lots of hockey, lots of practice,” Ovechkin said. “And now you kind of restart your brain and get ready for the second half and, most importantly, for the playoffs.”

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who referred to Ovechkin as “like my best friend,” sensed from him a desire to get away from record chase talk when they had dinner during the break in Miami.

“I tried to ask him about the goals, but he doesn't want to talk too much,” Malkin said. “He wants to just enjoy it, and he was just relaxed. I want to say, maybe, a couple years ago, I [didn't] believe he would break the record. But now, it's no choice. Of course, maybe not this year, but 100 percent next year.”

It doesn’t appear the attention from chasing Gretzky has impacted Ovechkin, yet. Despite missing 16 games with a fractured left fibula from Nov. 21-Dec. 28, he leads Washington with 26 goals in 39 games this season, including four in his past five games.

“In a way, you could say it’s what he’s been doing his entire life, scoring goals,” Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois said. “But in another way, for it to be every game, every goal -- and I’m sure he feels it -- we’re on the road and the fans almost celebrate his goals. So to have that it must be a pretty special feeling, but he hasn’t changed. … It feels like he has that same drive and that same hunger to score and that’s pretty impressive to see.”

Ovechkin’s record chase has provided additional energy to what has been a somewhat surprising season for Washington after it snuck into the playoffs as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference last season. With 80 points already, the Capitals are quickly closing in on their total of 91 in 2023-24, going 3-0-3 in their past six games and 12-1-6 in their past 19.

“I think it’s had that subtle impact this year of maybe taking pressure off some other things throughout the year,” defenseman John Carlson said. “So it’s fantastic. It’s great for him, but it’s great for us and it’s great for the game. I think this season has got a lot of great storylines.”

A perfect storyline for Ovechkin and Washington would be for him to surpass Gretzky before the end of the regular season and then carry the momentum from that into the playoffs. At Ovechkin’s rate of 0.67 goals per game this season, he is on pace to score his 895th goal in the Capitals’ 79th game of the season at the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 12. At his career rate of 0.6 goals per game, he would break the record in Washington’s regular-season finale at Pittsburgh on April 17.

“Everyone would like it to be done this year, and I’m sure he would, too,” Strome said. “So just got to keep working at it, keep getting him looks in good spots. I’m sure the media attention and everything is going to hype up. He just plays the game hard and wants to score.
He’s just as happy when he’s on the ice for a goal as when he scores one.

“There hasn’t really been a time this year when he’s had a cold streak. He just had four goals in the last five games, so he’s right there and he’s playing well, and we’ve just got to keep finding him.”

Ovechkin has looked sharp and energized since the Capitals resumed practice Wednesday. Coach Spencer Carbery said he believes that will carry over to rest of the team as he chases history and they try to rachet up their play for a potential run at the Stanley Cup.

“I think it just gives us a little bit more juice,” Carbery said. “I believe this. That’s why I said it a few weeks ago. I think ‘O’, I think this is going to be his best hockey of the year, these last 27 games. You’re going to see a guy that’s highly, highly motivated and just has the pedal to the metal for this last little stretch.”

Washington is looking forward to taking that ride with him.

“I think everyone in the world knows how close he is, for us we want to get that,” goalie Logan Thompson said. “We play hard for him every night.”

Carlson said: “As a team, all individual success is fantastic and builds towards that. I think everybody knows the enormity of it all and you just never know. You never know what next year will bring for you or him or whatever. So he’s in a good spot, he’s had a great year so far and I think everybody is hoping to get this thing as soon as he can.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report