Alex Ovechkin is steadily working toward breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal-scoring record.
With 879 career goals, just 16 away from passing Gretzky, Ovechkin aims to keep his momentum going when the Washington Capitals play the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday afternoon.
Ovechkin has scored in four straight games, bringing his season total to 26 goals. This puts him on track for 45 goals, which would mark the 14th time in his 20 seasons that he has reached 40 goals. His 0.68 goals per game this season is the fifth highest of his career, and he’s doing this at 39 years old.
Washington head coach Spencer Carbery believes there is more to come from Ovechkin, who missed 16 games with a broken leg from mid-November to late December.
“I think his best hockey is to come in the season,” Carbery said. “In my head, at 39 years old, missing that amount of time and trying to come back and get caught up in the NHL. I think that’s really, really hard, and I saw a difference in his individual game. I think he’s going to look even better coming out of the break.”
The Capitals head into Sunday’s game with a chance to tie the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the NHL. They’re coming off a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, extending their point streak to five games (3-0-2).
Sunday’s game will be the final one for both teams before the league breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which runs from Wednesday through Feb. 20. The Capitals are one of two teams not sending players to the tournament.
Alex Ovechkin waves to the crowd after the game“A mental break is enormous for us at this point in the year,” said defenseman John Carlson. “Guys that are a little banged up and injured, it’ll help them too. But mostly the way I look at it is just the mental. Kind of get away from the day-to-day stuff and come back re-energized and invigorated to finish the year strong.”
Utah will be looking to recover after a 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, which left them at a .500 record for the season.
Despite this, Utah is only eight points behind the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
“I liked our determination on offense, I like the way we competed on offense,” said Utah coach Andre Tourigny. “I think we were too short on detail defensively. All in all, we gave up too much on offense for them.”
Forward Lawson Crouse has struggled this season, with just 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 54 games. He is on pace for only 12 goals, a drop after scoring over 20 goals in each of the past three seasons.
The Utah alternate captain was scratched on Tuesday against the Flyers but returned to the lineup on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring his second goal in the last 15 games.
“I hold myself to a higher level and standard,” Crouse said about being scratched. “… Obviously, it’s unfortunate but I’ve got to play better. It’s on me.”
