WASHINGTON- When Alex Ovechkin jumped on a loose puck to the side of the Jets’ crease early in the second period Monday night, it took three whacks for him to finally chip it past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and nestle into the cage. Ovechkin’s arms flew over his head as he kissed his glove and waited to hug his teammates, a huge smile across his face, his tongue sticking out.
Ovi's 600th career goal in the National Hockey League.
“I was just screaming at him,” Tom Wilson said of the celebration.
The crowd at Capital One Arena responded with a thunderous standing ovation, “Ovi” chants and hymns of praise for the Russian winger, who became the fourth-fastest player of all time to hit the 600-goal mark, as well as only the 20th player in league history to accomplish the impressive feat.
“Of course it’s special,” Ovechkin calmly said after the game, a 3-2 overtime victory for the Caps. “Of course you want to do it more and more. It’s 600 now, you have to score another to make 601.”
Alex Ovechkin became the 20th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal milestone, doing so in 990 GP (600-509—1,109). Only 3 players achieved the feat in fewer GP: Wayne Gretzky (718), Mario Lemieux (719) and Brett Hull (900). #NHLStats #WPGvsWSH #600VI pic.twitter.com/3J26b2fkPK
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 13, 2018
Heading into Monday’s matchup with Winnipeg, Ovechkin and Jets forward Patrik Laine were tied for the NHL’s goal-scoring lead, each with 40 goals on the season. The old lion and the young gun. At the end of the night, Ovechkin stood at 42 goals, Laine at 41, the pair combining for three of the game's five goals.
Though Laine wasn’t thrilled to see Ovechkin score a pair against his team, he said afterwards it was still a sight to behold as his childhood idol made history right in front of his eyes.
“Yeah that was pretty cool. I was watching it. I was in a good spot, just behind him,” Laine said. “I was there when he made history, so I can maybe watch that someday and show I was there on the ice.”
By now, Ovechkin’s teammates are not surprised by his success, let alone what he can do game in and game out. This is the ninth year that Ovechkin scored at least 40 goals in a season, and he’s on pace to hit 50 for the eighth time in his career.
Legend. @Ovi8 #Gr8 #600VI #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/xhp7TcuUKw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 13, 2018
However, his teammates are still in awe of the 32-year-old, given his production over the years and how he breezes through milestones that many players will never reach.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s crazy,” Wilson said. “I feel like it’s a new accomplishment, a new milestone every day, every week. It’s been a lot of fun to have a front row seat to it.”
Countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov agreed, saying that when you take the time to put Ovechkin’s production into perspective, his numbers are nearly mind-blowing.
“When you look at those numbers, you don’t even think, ‘599, 600, eh…’, but then when you understand, you go, ‘Holy f--- that’s a lot of goals,” Kuznetsov laughed. “I can’t score 20 in a year. This is 600.”
Kuzy with last night's @EASPORTSNHL OT breakaway snipe! #CapsJets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Zuy9Ybplzo
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 13, 2018
Philipp Grubauer joked that he was happy to see Ovechkin get the puck on net, considering his shots often hit Grubauer in the head at practice. Turning more serious, Grubauer was happy for his teammate and said he has been fortunate to be a part of many of his milestones throughout the years.
“It’s crazy to be on the ice for that,” Grubauer said. “It doesn’t happen every day, and I’m sure everybody soaked it in.”
Caps owner Ted Leonsis spoke highly of the Russian winger, saying that the team should “never take him for granted.”
“It’s really remarkable what he’s accomplished and how focused he is on our team playing well… I’m very proud of him,” Leonsis said. “I told him I loved him and respected him and was very grateful and appreciate everything he’s done for our fans and our team.”
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While Ovechkin said his 600th goal is special, he is ready to keep pushing as the team shifts its focus to closing out the season strong and readying for a deep playoff run.
“When you score big number, it’s like, ‘Okay it’s over’ and you have to move forward,” Ovechkin said. “Right now, I’m going to enjoy the time… but tomorrow’s a new day, back to work.”