Teammates mob Ovi after his goal against former teammate Semyon Varlamov. (Caps Outsider)
With the third-period goal against the Islanders Tuesday, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin passed former Cap Jaromir Jagr for sole possession of third place on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list with 767. It was Ovi’s 37th goal of the season.
Jagr made a congratulations, of sorts. “As you know, I didn’t retire from hockey yet. And there’s a chance I might come back to NHL and start chasing YOU.”
After the game, Ovi still hadn’t seen the video. When informed what Jagr said, Ovi replied, “Great! Great!”
Next up is “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe, who scored 801 times in the NHL.
With two goals on March 8 against Calgary, Ovechkin tied Jagr with 766, narrowly missing 767 on an empty net at the end of the game.
Now, the long countdown begins. While there’s no doubt he will be passing Howe, likely next season, it’ll still be a few seasons of top-level production for him to pass Wayne Gretzky, who has 894.
BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT pic.twitter.com/wHBArGf6Iu
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 16, 2022
A very special congratulations from Jaromir Jagr to Alex Ovechkin (plus a little surprise at the end). 😉 pic.twitter.com/HGgSlqRTaQ
— NHL (@NHL) March 16, 2022
