Capitals: Alex Ovechkin’s road to 700 goals
We’ve reached the point in the season where the possible has become the inevitable, it’s not if Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals will hit 700 goals but when.
Alex Ovechkin will continue his quest on Wednesday night when the Washington Capitals host the Nashville Predators. In the meantime let’s look at his quest to get to the point he is at today.
Ovechkin was drafted first overall by the Capitals in 2004 and made his debut on Oct. 5, 2005 when the team hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ovechkin scored twice in a 3-2 win and it was just the beginning of the greatness this city would witness.
When the Caps were in Anaheim against the Ducks, Ovechkin had his first hat trick on Jan 13. While that was impressive, nothing compared to what he did three days later in what everyone in Washington calls, “The Goal”.
Ovechkin finished his rookie season with 52 goals which led all NHL rookies. He brought home the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.
Ovechkin finished his second season with 46 goals. He scored his100th career goal the next year in Washington’s fourth game which was a loss to the Rangers in New York. That 2007-08 season wound up being Ovechkin’s best season leading the league with an astonishing 65 goals.
Ovechkin’s best season statistically speaking was in 2007-08 when he led the NHL with 65 goals on his way to his first Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. That season saw him sign a 13 year extension worth $124 million, a mega deal that he negotiated all by himself. Very similar to Nicklas Backstrom’s contract extension a few weeks ago.
That was a magical season that saw the Capitals go from worst to first in the Southeast Division. That season saw Ovechkin notch two four-goal games, one in Ottawa on Dec. 29 and one at home against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 31.
Ovechkin notched another hat trick on March 3 against the Boston Bruins for his 50th, 51st and 52nd goals on the season. He reached the 60 goal plateau with two goals on March 21 against the Atlanta Thrashers to become the first NHL player to score 60 goals since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96.
Four days later Ovechkin broke Dennis Maruk’s franchise record for most goals in a season. In addition to finishing with the Hart, Ovechkin also took home the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
Ovechkin helped the Caps get back to the playoffs and turn the city into a hockey town.
Alex Ovechkin when one thinks of his supporting cast always links to Nicklas Backstrom but in the early part of his hockey days there was also Alex Semin and Mike Green. On Feb. 5, 2009 Ovechkin scored his 200th career goal against the Los Angles Kings becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to reach the milestone in four seasons. He joined the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.
Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season on March 19 in Tampa Bay and did the hot stick celly to celebrate the occasion.
Ovechkin finished the 2008-09 season with 56 goals, once again leading the league. He led the Caps past the first round of the playoffs that spring and even had a hat trick in a memorable joust with Sidney Crosby.
The next season Ovechkin scored 50 goals when the Capitals won their first ever Presidents’ Trophy. He followed that up with a 32 and 38 goal seasons before a resurgence would take place taking Ovechkin up the leaderboard once more.
Ovechkin first had to deal with the adversity of a lockout shortened season in 2013 but led the NHL with 32 goals in 48 games. He followed that up with a 51 goal season and scored his 400th career goal on Dec. 20, 2013.
Ovechkin became the sixth fastest player to reach 400 goals but he wasn’t slowing down anytime soon. Despite not making the playoffs that season, Ovechkin once again took home a Rocket Richard finishing with 51 goals.
Ovechkin rebounded with a 53 goal season and a return to the playoffs in 2014-15, the first year under then new head coach Barry Trotz. The Capitals got past a gritty New York Islanders team in seven games before falling to the Rangers in a heartbreaking seven game series.
The Capitals added to their roster in the offseason and that strong roster saw them capture back to back Presidents Trophies with the league’s best record. Ovechkin scored 50 goals in the 2015-16 season and his 500th came in front of a sold out crowd at then-called Verizon Center. On Jan. 10, 2016 the team hosted the Ottawa Senators and the goal came from none other than the office at the left face-off circle.
Ovechkin became the 43rd player to reach 500 goals and the fifth fastest player to reach the mark as well as the first Russian.
Ovechkin’s next season was a bit of a down year where he scored 33 goals. Despite this, he reached the milestone of 1,000 career points on Jan. 11 against the Pittsburgh Penguins becoming the 37th player in the history of the NHL to reach 1,000 with one team.
Despite Ovechkin climbing up the scoring ladder there was one thing that eluded him and he entered the 2017-18 season ready to change that narrative. There was talk about whether the Caps should trade him, whether he was washed up, yada yada yada. True fans knew Ovechkin would be fine and that he would bounce back better than ever.
That season saw Ovechkin score 49 goals including his 600th career goal which took place on March 12 against the Winnipeg Jets on a great rebound play in front of the net. He became the 20th player to reach that number and the fourth to do it in less than 1,000 games.
Ovechkin later hit his 1,000th game on April 1st in Pittsburgh. As impressive as these milestones were, nothing compared to what happened the following spring. Ovechkin was a man on a mission with 15 goals in 24 playoff games helping the Caps to their first ever Stanley Cup.
His Cup lift over his head may have been the most epic of all time. His handoff to Backstrom made Capitals fans, including myself, tear up everywhere.
Ovechkin had his shortest offseason ever but overcame that obstacle with a 51-goal season and four goals in the playoffs in a tough, hard fought series that saw the Caps come up short.
Ovechkin turned 34 this season but is showing zero signs of slowing down. He already has 34 goals through the all star break along with 16 assists and 50 points in 49 games played.
His recent resurgence included eight goals in his last three games including back to back hat tricks. We won’t see Ovechkin play tonight against the Canadiens so the road to 700 hits a brief pause before resuming on Wednesday when the team hosts the Nashville Predators.
He’s a Stanley Cup winner, a 12 time all star, a three time Hart Trophy winner and soon has a chance to be a 700 goal scorer. He sits at 692, just eight more goals from hitting that big number.
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Ovechkin is one of the game’s most electrifying players and it’s gonna be an incredible scene once he reaches 700 goals. With the Caps at the top of the pack in the NHL, don’t be surprised to see a couple more entertaining playoff games from the Great Eight as well.