For the longest time, it felt like Alex Ovechkin would never score again. But tonight he finally did. And it was delicious.
The Capitals captain beat Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltender Elvis Merzļikins with a perfectly placed wrist shot short side to give the Capitals a 3-2 win in overtime. Ovechkin pumped his arms and jumped into John Carlson’s arms to celebrate.
“THE GREAT WAIT IS OVER!” yelled Joe Beninati on the call.
The goal marked Ovechkin’s 828th goal of his career and his sixth of the 2023-24 season.
“It’s been a while,” Ovechkin said post game to Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “Pretty good feelings. Good victory.”
Ovechkin’s goal came after Tom Wilson drew a penalty on Merzļikins. Wilson was pushed into the Columbus net and was slow to get out. Merzļikins became irate and shoved Wilson. Both players threw punches.. The Latvian goalie a roughing penalty that resulted in the game-deciding power play.
ELVIS MERZLIKINS vs. TOM WILSON pic.twitter.com/rX6W41IQRV
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 22, 2023
Ovechkin had seven shots on goal and 16 individual shot attempts on the night. He was denied every single time until the Caps’ 4-on-3 man advantage.
“Yeah, today I had plenty of chances with one-timers,” Ovechkin said. “He makes good saves. I didn’t put the puck a little higher. I’ll take it right now. It’s been a while.”
“You just have to score one and feel that feeling again.”@RealSmokinAl and @ovi8 discuss his 26th career OT goal! @Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/bGSUyWTEMu
— Monumental Sports Network (@MonSportsNet) December 22, 2023
The OT tally ended Ovi’s career-worst goalless streak at 14 games. His previous career-long streak was 10 games, which came during the 2016-17 season from February 22 through March 12.
“I think the whole situation, you just have to score one,” Ovechkin said. “Feel that feeling again. Just enjoy.”
Since scoring his last goal on November 18 and through his OTGWG in Columbus, Ovechkin’s slump included:
- 118 attempted shots, 9th most among all players during the stretch
- 42 blocked shots
- just 18 misses
- 57 shots saved by goalies
- 54 scoring chances
- 12 high-danger chances
All in all, Ovechkin totaled 5.4 expected goals and had one real actual goal.
It’s worth noting, while Ovechkin was in his slump, Auston Matthews scored 13 goals. Nikita Kucherov, Brock Boeser, and Zach Hyman all scored 10.
The goal marked the 26th overtime goal of Ovechkin’s career, an NHL record, extending his lead over second place Sidney Crosby to six.
Ovechkin now trails Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all time goals list by 66.
“I think everybody do great job,” Ovechkin said. “We all knew it was going to be tough game for us. They young, they have lots of speed and lots of talent. We hold it well and get huge points.”
All thanks to The Big Guy.
