Alex Ovechkin’s latest record proves, again, that he’s not slowing down
WASHINGTON — Tuesday night at Capital One Arena began with a celebration for Alex Ovechkin, who overtook Gordie Howe for #2 on the NHL’s all-time goals list. And just about five minutes into the Capitals’ altercation with Columbus, Ovechkin made history in a different way.
Washington’s captain scored his 40th goal of the season Tuesday night – the 13th time of his career – and passed Wayne Gretzky for the highest 40-goal season in NHL history.
Ovechkin is only the eighth player to score 40 goals this season. And at 37, Ovechkin is at least 10 years older than any other 40-goal goalscorer this season. The second-oldest player to score more than 40 goals in 2022-23 is Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who just turned 27 last October.
In his 18th NHL season, how did Ovechkin continue to be one of the NHL’s top scorers?
“I’m just trying to enjoy my time and do my best,” Ovechkin said.
Ovechkin was also light-hearted when asked what the 40-goal record means to him.
“Yeah, that’s a pretty cool moment. It doesn’t matter what record it is, it is a record,” he said, before jokingly asking a reporter, “How many records do you have?”
When the reporter responded with “zero records,” Ovechkin smiled before saying, “Yeah, so you see.”
Though Ovechkin offered fairly straightforward answers for his continued success, his head coach offered a longer answer as to why No. 8 continues to be one of hockey’s best players.
“He’s been doing it consistently every year since he came into the league and therefore doesn’t seem to be a brake on him,” said Peter Laviolette. “He plays fast, he plays hard. … But for me the consistency is in answering your question to be able to do this year after year.
Laviolette wasn’t the only one who gave Ovechkin strong praise after his celebratory night. NHL Assistant Commissioner Bill Daly was present at the ceremony and spoke enthusiastically when asked about the Capitals star.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Daly said. “You can tell every shift he takes, every time he’s on the ice, that he’s enjoying what he’s doing. He’s having fun, and I think a lot of pro athletes — I’m not saying specifically hockey players — all pro athletes reach a point in their careers where it becomes routine and not a chore, but less enjoyable in playing the game. But he seems like a kid to him when he’s out there and that certainly helped his performance as well.”
Ovechkin set the record for the season with most 40 goals aged 35 or older. He also extended his own season record of 40 goals after turning 30 at six. Simply put, he does things on the ice that no one his age has ever done.
Tom Brady defied ‘dad time’ in football and played at the elite level until his retirement this winter. LeBron James is doing things no NBA player his age has ever done. Now it’s time to place Ovechkin in this group.