The Washington Capitals scored a convincing 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, confirming that they are a serious contender for the 2024-25 NHL season. Star Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal and drew a reaction from coach Spencer Carbery, who outplayed rival coach Peter Laviolette in a tactical duel.
At 39 years of age, the Great 8 is still making headlines. With his goal against Laviolette’s Rangers, he is only 10 goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals, and if he keeps up his excellent level on the ice, he can certainly do it. It is worth noting the good collective momentum, as the hard-fought victory over New York was the Capitals’ second win in a row.
The hockey world is eagerly anticipating when Alex Ovechkin will break the NHL’s all-time goal record. The Washington Capitals forward is currently scoring at a rate of 0.70 goals per game this season, suggesting that he could surpass the milestone when the Caps face the New York Islanders on April 6. However, The Great 8 still has 20 games left this season to reach the historic mark. His current form has head coach Spencer Carbery expressing a sense of anticipation.
Carbery’s reaction to Ovechkin’s goal vs Rangers
“Ten more. We got this.” Those were the five words Spencer Carbery used to react to Alex Ovechkin’s goal, which tied the game 2-2 against the Rangers. “There’s another example of nothing really going on, and he just has a flair for the dramatic in a key moment in the game. The puck squirts to him, and he makes no mistake. That’s a huge goal for our team, huge goal on the power play,” Carbery also said, according to NHL.com.
Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the Dallas Stars at Capital One Arena on October 17, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Ovechkin breaks Gretzky’s record with goal vs Rangers
Ovechkin’s goal against New York not only tied the game for Tom Wilson to make it 3-2, it was a record-breaking goal. It was Ovechkin’s 636th game-winning goal, passing Gretzky (635) for the most in NHL history. The Great 8 has 32 goals in 46 games this season, and his next goal will make him the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points.
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Peter Laviolette also reacted to the loss against the Rangers
“I liked everything we were doing in the third up until they got on the power play. Up until that point I thought the third, it was in check with where we wanted to be, and they scored a power-play goal to tie it up,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette reacted.
