It felt like that for a long time Alex Ovechkin would never score again. But tonight he finally did it. And it was delicious.
The Capitals captain beat Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzļikins with a perfectly placed wrist shot on the short side to give the Capitals a 3-2 overtime win. Ovechkin pumped his arms and jumped into John Carlson's arms to celebrate.
“The great wait is over!” shouted Joe Beninati during the call.
The goal was Ovechkin's 828th of his career and his sixth of the 2023-24 season.
“It’s been a while,” Ovechkin told Al Koken of Monumental Sports Network after the game. “Pretty good feelings. Good win.”
Ovechkin's goal came after Tom Wilson converted a penalty against Merzļikins. Wilson was pushed into the Columbus net and was slow to get out. Merzļikins became angry and pushed Wilson. Both players took shots. The Latvian goalkeeper converted a rough penalty that led to the game-winning power play.
ELVIS MERZLIKINS vs TOM WILSON 😳 pic.twitter.com/rX6W41IQRV
– Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 22, 2023
Ovechkin had seven shots on goal and 16 individual shot attempts on the night. He was denied each time until the Caps had a 4-on-3 man advantage.
“Yeah, today I had a lot of chances with one-timers,” Ovechkin said. “It holds up well. I didn't put the puck a little higher. I'll take it immediately. It's been a while.”
“You just have to score and feel that feeling again.”@RealSmokinAl And @ovi8 Discuss his 26th career OT goal! @Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/bGSUyWTEMu
— Monumental Sports Network (@MonSportsNet) December 22, 2023
The OT record ended Ovi's worst scoreless streak of his career at 14 games. His previous career included 10 games, which he played in the 2016/17 season from February 22nd to March 12th.
“I think with the whole situation you just have to score,” Ovechkin said. “Feel that feeling again. Just enjoy it.”
Since his last goal on November 18th and through his OTGWG in Columbus, Ovechkin has experienced the following slumps:
- 118 shot attempts, ninth most among all players during the stretch
- 42 blocked shots
- only 18 misses
- 57 shots saved by goalkeepers
- 54 scoring chances
- 12 highly dangerous opportunities
Overall, Ovechkin scored 5.4 expected goals and had one actual goal.
It's worth noting that Auston Matthews scored 13 goals while Ovechkin was in a slump. Nikita Kucherov, Brock Boeser and Zach Hyman each scored 10 points.
The goal was the 26th overtime goal of Ovechkin's career, an NHL record, and extended his lead over runner-up Sidney Crosby to six.
Ovechkin is now 66 points behind Wayne Gretzky on the NHL's all-time goals list.
“I think everyone is doing a great job,” Ovechkin said. “We all knew it would be a difficult game for us. They are young, have a lot of speed and a lot of talent. We’re doing well and getting a lot of points.”
All thanks to The Big Guy.