The Washington Capitals are looking to build off the momentum from their convincing victory over the Vegas Golden Knights with their first-ever trip to Salt Lake City, taking on the Utah Hockey Club for the first time since their move from Arizona.
And as usual, all eyes continue to be on Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin as he pursues history. Thanks to his pair of goals against Utah, he moved even closer to Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time mark of 894; he now trails by only 27 goals.
Ovechkin also tallied a hat trick against the Golden Knights on Sunday night, giving him 31 for his illustrious career.
It’s only a matter of time before there’s a brand new all-time goal scorer in NHL history.
Wayne Gretzky is rooting for Alex Ovechkin to break his record
Earlier this year, Ovechkin stated that he was grateful to have Gretzky’s support in pursuit of breaking his goal scoring record.
“It’s great,” Ovechkin explained of having The Great One’s blessing. “Even when I have a slump, he will sometimes text me and say, ‘Don’t worry about it. It will come.’ He’s on my side.”
“If that kind of person is rooting for me, it’s pretty cool stuff,” Ovechkin said. “He’s the best player out there and he’s a great human. He supports me and it’s a pretty cool thing. I hope when it’s going to be close, he’ll give me some advice. But not yet.”
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Meanwhile, Gretzky himself compared Ovechkin’s shot to some of his own peers he played against during his career.
“I mean, it’s his shot,” Gretzky said. “Look at guys like Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy. They get those opportunities. They don’t miss the net. If you miss the net you can’t score. Ovi. Bossy. Jari Kurri. Brett Hull. They never miss the net.”
“And that separates a great goal scorer from good goal scorers, right? And he can be in any spot on the ice, he’s going to hit the net.”
Ovechkin appears to have returned to form after a slumping first half of last season, though he rebounded to finish with 31 goals.