WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Alex Ovechkin barely looked at the empty net when he shot the puck into it and set off a wild celebration with his teammates and among Washington Capitals fans.
With a no-look empty-net goal, Ovechkin made more history and moved another step closer to breaking one of hockey's most hallowed records.
Friday night to move into second place on the NHL career list. After beating Winnipeg Jets goaltender David Rittich in the first period to match Gordie Howe, Ovechkin almost reluctantly scored from just inside the blue line with a minute left to pass 鈥淢r. Hockey."
Only Wayne Gretzky with 894 has scored more, and Ovechkin is now 93 goals from breaking a record that has long seemed unapproachable.
鈥淪tep by step, guys," Ovechkin said after posing with sons Sergei and Ilya and the milestone pucks. 鈥淪till a long way.鈥
While it will take at least a couple more years to see if it's possible for Ovechkin to challenge Gretzky, moving past Howe warranted plenty of celebration. Fans chanted, 鈥淥vi! Ovi! Ovi!鈥 throughout Washington's 4-1 win, never louder than after he hit the empty net.
Teammates did the same in the locker room during a closed-door celebration, which followed Jets players lining up to shake Ovechkin's hand at centre ice.
"I think it鈥檚 just to show respect, and it鈥檚 history for them as well," Ovechkin said. 鈥淭he game is the game, but as soon as the whistle blows, it鈥檚 all about hockey. We respect each other.鈥
Ovechkin hit the post on his first shot at the empty net and passed up another attempt by giving the puck to countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov 鈥 and getting it back. Even if he didn't want to make history this way, Washington's longtime captain was going to do what it took to ice his team's fourth consecutive victory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the kind of situation where if you have a chance to take it, you take it,鈥 Ovechkin said. 鈥淚 give it to Kuzy and he鈥檚 like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to take it.鈥 But after that, it鈥檚 special.鈥
Teammates leapt off the bench in celebration and the arena goal counter flipped to 802. A video tribute from Howe's son Mark followed.
鈥淥n behalf of Gordie Howe, the guy you just passed, and from (my) mother Colleen and the entire Howe family, we just want to congratulate on what a fantastic achievement,鈥 Mark Howe said in representing his father, who died in 2016 at age 88. 鈥淵ou've been a pleasure to watch.鈥
Ovechkin made the hockey community watch him chase Howe for more than a week after recording a hat trick to become just the third player with 800 goals. He endured a four-game goal drought before breaking through Friday.
鈥淎fter the hat trick to get 800, it took a little while to get 801 and 802,鈥 said center Dylan Strome, who assisted on Ovechkin鈥檚 first goal of the game. 鈥淭o see the puck go in was just relief, I鈥檓 sure, from everyone.鈥
Ovechkin after tying Howe did not look satisfied with stopping at 801. He got a breakaway early in the second period and was denied this time by Rittich 鈥 the 166th different goaltender he has scored on 鈥 and had a few other chances as the game progressed.
With the Capitals leading 3-1 late and Rittich pulled for an extra attacker, fans chanted for Ovechkin to get onto the ice. He and coach Peter Laviolette had discussed not forcing the situation, but when it was Ovechkin's turn, he didn't miss his opportunity.
鈥淭here is something good about what he does offensively when the goalie is out of the net, as well,鈥 Laviolette said. "We didn鈥檛 change anything and it is a pretty special moment, pretty special night.鈥
It made it more special for Ovechkin to have wife Nastya and his sons in attendance. Minutes after four-year-old Sergei and 2-year-old Ilya sat on his lap in the locker room, Ovechkin also beamed knowing his parents were watching from their home in Moscow.
鈥淰ery emotional,鈥 Ovechkin said. "Doing it with the home crowd, it鈥檚 special. They give me full support, and this is pretty big. It鈥檚 a historic moment. It鈥檚 nice to be in this category of players. It鈥檚 pretty cool.鈥
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