Alex Ovechkin takes his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record to the West Coast this week as the Washington Capitals begin a three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Ovechkin scored for the 886th time on Sunday with his empty-netter that secured a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken and extended the team’s winning streak to four games. He sits nine away from setting the record.
The Capitals’ success this season — leading the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference with 92 points through 64 games — has given the 39-year-old Ovechkin extra scoring opportunities. Eight of his team-best 33 goals are empty-netters, which ties him with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen for the league lead.
Ovechkin, who also has 17 assists, is not the only reason why Washington is a Stanley Cup contender. He’s one of six Caps with at least 50 points this season. Tom Wilson, his linemate, is second on the team with 29 goals, a career best, and fourth with 52 points — one off his best season.
On Monday, the NHL named the 30-year-old Wilson its third star of the week. He scored seven points (three goals, four assists) in Washington’s four wins last week, including an assist on Ovechkin’s goal against Seattle.
Speaking to reporters after practice Monday, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery called Wilson “a unicorn” because of his ability to play in all facets of the game.
“He’s such a fiery competitor and wants it so bad that you can feel it as a coach,” Carbery said. “That’s my job to try to help him or get him in situations where he can be effective and can change the momentum in the hockey game.”
He pointed to a hit Wilson laid on Seattle’s Jordan Eberle late in the first period of Sunday’s game. The Kraken led 1-0 at the time, but the Capitals scored twice in the first three minutes of the second period.
Anaheim, which wraps up a three-game homestand Tuesday, also won Sunday to snap a two-game skid. The Ducks are longshots to make the playoffs this season as they are 12th in the Western Conference with 63 points through 63 games, which puts them seven points behind the Calgary Flames for the conference’s second wild-card berth.
However, a trio of young Ducks are giving Anaheim fans reason to be excited as the season winds down. The team’s third line of Cutter Gauthier, 21, Mason McTavish, 22, and Sam Colangelo, 23, have powered the offense over the Ducks’ last four games. They accounted for eight of the team’s 11 goals in that span and added nine assists.
Colangelo, who was recalled from the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego on Feb. 27, had five goals and an assist in those games. That includes two goals in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
The third recall this season has been the charm for Anaheim’s 2020 second-round draft pick. Colangelo managed just one goal in his first 12 games spread out from November to January.
“Playing with two top-5 picks — there’s a reason they were both drafted so high,” Colangelo said of his linemates after Sunday’s win. “They’re unbelievable players playing in the league at a very young age, and I think we read off each other very well.”
–Field Level Media
