Capitals great gets beer-showered, cracks open a can while waiting for interview with Wayne Gretzky – Source: Getty
Alex Ovechkin received a beer shower from his Washington Capitals teammates after scoring his 893rd and 894th career goals on Friday night to tie Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
After an emotional post-game interview with Al Koken on the Capitals’ bench, Ovechkin returned to the locker room, where his teammates greeted him with a celebratory beer shower. In the Capitals’ celebration, teammates dumped cans of Stella Artois over Ovechkin.
The team erupted into chants of “Hey! Hey! Hey!” as players jumped up and down with Ovechkin, celebrating together in the locker room. Ovechkin said:
“Jesus!” as he celeared the beer.
“Babe, take a sip, man,” John Carlson said.
“I need a towel,” Ovechkin replied. “Best shower of my life.”
While waiting for a media interview with Wayne Gretzky, Ovechkin cracked open a beer to drink.
Ovechkin hit 894 career goals in 1,846 games, tying Gretzky’s mark in one fewer game. His two goals against Chicago brought him to 41 on the season, marking the 14th time in his 20-year career that he topped the 40-goal mark.
“It means a lot be honest, I don’t know what to say like you know right now so emotional, it’s, you know, you never thought like you can reach that milestone,” Ovechkin said.
Ovechkin is the first player in NHL history to score 40 goals in three different seasons after turning 35.
Alex Ovechkin passes on empty-net chance to break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record
Alex Ovechkin’s first goal came off a powerful one-timer, set up by Dylan Strome and John Carlson. His second broke a 3-3 tie in the third, matching Gretzky’s legendary total.
Despite several chances to break the record outright with the net empty late in the game, Ovechkin chose not to take the shot.
“I had some pretty good chances in the last minutes. Stromer (Dylan Strome) gave me a nice, flat pass (to score). I told Carbs (HC Spencer Carbery) right away that I didn’t want to do it (like that). Everybody asked me, but I said, ‘Let’s wait’,”
Alex Ovechkin’s action allowed rookie Ryan Leonard to score his first career goal.