Before the start of the new NHL season, Alexander Ovechkin once again became the main object of attention from the media, fans and the entire hockey community. The permanent leader of the Washington Capitals has long been accustomed to this. And the level of interest in Ovi’s personality and his statistics has never decreased. On the contrary, he even became even taller. But hardly anyone imagined that the reason for this would be Alexander’s goal drought, which has never been seen in the rich career of the great Russian sniper.
14 matches in a row. Ovechkin played exactly that many games of the NHL championship without scoring goals. This is an absolute anti-record in his career. Absolutely everyone was talking about this. Even Ovechkin himself:
“”I don't know what the reason is. I have good moments, but this is the period when you hold the stick too tightly because you didn't score or something like that. But I think sooner or later the goals will come , and everything will get better. Yes, I'm disappointed. I think it's a disappointment for everyone. You see that we're not scoring as many goals as we used to, and I don't know if it's the system of our game or something else. We're playing hockey. We must create chances, opportunities for ourselves and our teammates.”
Indeed, Ovechkin has plenty of chances this season, but the puck treacherously rarely flies into the opponents' goal. Goalkeepers of NHL clubs seemed to have suddenly learned to cope with Alexander’s signature shots, with which he conquered the target over and over again for many years. In this situation, the Russian sniper needed to be patient and continue his work. He will be rewarded for this work. And today fate rewarded him.
The last time Ovechkin scored was at the end of November. It was a match against the Columbus Blue Jackets, whose goal was defended by Latvian goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins. It had to happen for Alexander’s unsuccessful streak to be interrupted in a new meeting with Columbus. And again against Merzlikin in goal.
“Washington” met with a very serious opponent. Yes, the Blue Jackets are at the bottom of the standings, but matches against them are not easy for anyone. This happened today too. The outcome of the match had to be expected right up to the very end of overtime. It was during the extra time of the match that the climax occurred.
In one of the attacks, Capitals forward Tom Wilson drove into Merzlikin's goal at speed, simultaneously grabbing the goalkeeper's stick. The Latvian goalkeeper did not like this very much, and a fight broke out between the opponents. Since it was Merzlikin who initiated the conflict, Columbus was punished with a minor fine, and Washington received the right to a power play in the 4 on 3 format. Yes, the Capitals are having big problems with selling extras this season, but 4 vs 3 is a very profitable arrangement. That’s what Ovechkin decided. Not a one-timer, but a cool wrist shot that Merzlikin couldn’t handle.
“Hallelujah in honor of Ovi!” – this is what the match commentators shouted, covering the life of Washington.
The joy of Ovechkin and the entire Capitals squad knew no bounds. And throughout hockey Russia too.
With one puck, Alexander closed several positions at once. Firstly, he broke the long goalless streak. Secondly, he reached the 900-goal mark, including NHL championships and playoffs. Ovi became only the second player in league history to reach this peak. Before him, only Wayne Gretzky succeeded in this. Who else? An entire era! Thirdly, Ovechkin updated the league records, which belong to him: for goals in the power play (301) and in overtime (26). The Russian also came close to Jaromir Jagr’s record for winning goals in the NHL championships. For Ovechkin, this goal was the 125th. Jagr's record is 135.
And finally, the most important thing is that Alexander has reduced the gap behind Wayne Gretzky in goals in league championships to 66. “The Great Pursuit” is the name given to the mission of Ovi, who seeks to rewrite, probably, the main page of the vast history of the NHL . The broadcast commentators played on this theme, declaring that “the great wait is over!”
And we are very happy about it. We were waiting for Ovechkin to score and finally relieve all ill-wishers from having to count the minutes of his record-breaking streak. And they waited!
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