There was a point last season where it felt like, maybe, that all-time goals record would be out of reach for Alex Ovechkin – or at least take him a much longer time than expected to beat. These days, however, it feels like he could have the damn thing by January, and last night’s game is just one reason why.
The Capitals’ win over the Golden Knights last night came about for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the 40-save performance by Logan Thompson. But it was the captain who got things rolling in the right direction, the captain who gave his team some breathing room when they needed it, and the captain who capped it off with his 13th goal of the season and 866th goal of his career with his 31st career hat trick.
So let’s talk about all three, shall we?
First up, a goal on the power play (!!) that was, for the most part, something we as Caps fans have become very familiar with over the years: Ovechkin in his office, waiting for the pass from the blueline to set up his shot. This time around, he was also the recipient of some luck that came by way of his teammates crashing the net, as Shea Theodore was reaching out to stop an incoming Tom Wilson attack and ended up deflecting the puck past his own netminder. Oopsies:
That’s one.
On to Goal #2, which was his prettiest of the evening. The Caps were clinging to a one-goal lead late in the second period, with Vegas pressing to tie things up, and the Knights were on the attack.
Ivan Barbashev carried the puck into the zone, dropping it off to Jack Eichel, who then made the bizarre – one might even call it “too cute” – decision to send a blind behind-the-back pass over to a teammate. It never made it there, though, as Matt Roy smartly intercepted the pass and took off the other way.
Oopsies x2:
Roy then continued to be smart by passing the puck to Ovechkin as soon as he could and joining him on the two-on-one almost as a decoy that, really, shouldn’t have worked because the other player involved is the greatest goal-scorer in hockey history; on the ensuing rush, though, Ilya Samsonov indicated to his teammates that he had the shooter.
He…did not.
The Caps held the Knights at bay for the last two-ish minutes of the frame and most of the third period, but a little insurance never hurts – and the man with more empty-net goals than anyone in history added another to his total. Even this one was pretty nice, as he basically used his strength to shoulder Pietrangelo out of the way and slip the puck into the net.
We’ll just let this one play out:
My Captain.
— Washington Capitals (@wshcapitals.bsky.social) November 17, 2024 at 10:56 PM
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Thirty-nine years old.
A good win for the boys, and happy hops all around – onward to Utah!