It’s possible that by the time the weekend is over, Alex Ovechkin could hit another career milestone -- 500 NHL goals.
The Washington Capitals star, now 30 years old, is sitting on 497 goals. The Capitals play the New York Rangers on Saturday, and, as Dan Rosen of NHL.com pointed out, there is the chance Ovechkin could hit 500 in what would be his 800th regular season game. He would need a hat trick, of course. But it’s possible.
If he doesn’t get there Saturday, he can achieve that mark the following day against the Ottawa Senators.
Ovechkin also would become the first Russian-born player to score 500 goals in the NHL. He became the leading scorer among Russian-born NHL players earlier this season, when he passed Sergei Fedorov by scoring his 484th goal on Nov. 19.
“I think the Russian one got a lot of play, when he passed Fedorov, and I think he was more nervous on that one than he is now,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s going to score a lot more than 500 goals, I’m pretty sure on that. It’s a big milestone. I think he’s got other milestones that he wants to achieve as well, but 500 will be nice.”
But one of his best -- one of those efforts that could make fans jump out of their seats -- came against the then Phoenix Coyotes, coach at the time by none other than Wayne Gretzky.
And as Ovechkin approaches this milestone, this goal is certainly worth another look.