Washington Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin will continue the hunt for Wayne Gretzky’s record on Friday and says he’s ready to put a pretty difficult last few months behind him.
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The 38-year-old Russian missed the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2014. He needed 72 goals to reach the mark of 894 goals in his career in the National League held by La Merveille, but had to deal with a lower body injury and the death of his father in February. Luckily for Ovechkin and his teammates, he appears to be in great spirits before facing Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“It’s been the hardest year of my life because of what happened to my dad, but it is what it is,” he told NHL.com. Unfortunately, this happens to everyone. For me, I just want to do my best this year to get back on my feet and help our team make the playoffs. That is our goal.”
“I just want to play,” he said when asked about the importance of getting to the top alongside Gretzky. It’s about getting to the playoffs. Then we’ll see what happens. […] Deeds of arms are deeds of arms. There are several discussions about it, a lot of media and fan attention. But for us players, it’s just about getting on the ice and getting the best out of ourselves.”
Especially the group
As for Ovechkin’s teammates, the veteran’s search remains a hot topic, but no one loses sight of the main reason for the game: winning.
“I think the two are somehow related. If “Ovi” plays well and scores goals, the club has a good chance of winning. […] As a teammate, you hope he makes history and continues to do so. There’s been one new brand after another for five years, but at the end of the day it’s the team that counts, remembers the resilient Tom Wilson. You’ll never hear him say that one record is more important, and I don’t think anyone thinks that.”
Furthermore, the attention may be lower in 2023-2024 as the chances of the winger seeing Gretzky’s equal are very slim and he has no one to overtake in the top scorer rankings.
“I think it’s hard not to think about something like that,” forward Dylan Strome said. Maybe it will be a little quieter since there is no longer the 800th goal to score or Gordie Howe to overtake. There are things like that that are no longer on the schedule, so there may be a little less attention, but every time he reaches the goal he gets closer to the story. »