WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is the 60th player in NHL history to record 700 career assists, reaching the milestone with his second point Tuesday night in the Washington Capitals' 4-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ovechkin had a secondary assist on Tom Wilson's power-play goal early in the second period, then set up linemate Aliaksei Protas a few minutes later.
“He makes that play happen on that goal,” coach Spencer Carbery said. "Great job using his feet, cuts back, finds space. That’s a huge play in that moment.”
A video montage of his assists played on arena video boards at the ensuing timeout, and Ovechkin waved to fans who gave him a standing ovation.
“It’s because of lots of shots, lots of rebounds coming from the net, so I’ll take it," Ovechkin said.
Second on the career goal-scoring list with 853, Ovechkin has three assists through his first two games of the season. The 39-year-old winger is 42 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record that long seemed unapproachable.
Ovechkin is the sixth player with 700 goals and 700 assists, joining Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito. He credited playing 20 years in the league for his latest accomplishment.
“It’s a pretty big number,” Ovechkin said. "Nice to be in that company.”
Ovechkin would need another 1,304 points to tie Gretzky, the “Great One,” who has more assists than anyone else in hockey has points.
The second game of the season came with the 39-year-old playing some right wing, shifting from the left side that has been his position for the vast majority of his career. He acknowledged it was difficult to adjust at first.
“You adjust, neutral zone, defensive zone, and especially in the offensive zone you’re moving around,” Ovechkin said. "It doesn’t matter for me. First couple shifts were kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s always like I wanted to go to the left side. But we’ll see how it goes.”
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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, center, attempts a shot against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, left, and Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3 ) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves and scored an empty-net goal as the Minnesota Wild snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
Ryan Hartman scored a power-play goal in the first period and Jakub Lauko scored a short-handed goal in the second for the Wild. Marco Rossi added a third-period goal. Kirill Kaprizov had two assists.
Mathieu Joseph, acquired in an offseason trade with Ottawa, scored his first goal as a Blue midway through the third period. Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for St. Louis, who had won their last four home openers.
Wild: It was the first time since a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders on Jan. 15, 2024, that Minnesota had both a power-play goal and a short-handed goal in the same game.
Blues: Have faced a multi-goal deficit in all four games this season.
With the Blues on a power play, Lauko got behind the Blues defense to give the Wild a 2-0 lead at 7:52 of the second period. It was the second short-handed goal allowed by St. Louis this season.
Moments later, Jordan Kyrou appeared to score on the same Blues power play, but the goal was waved off as the official had blown the play dead believing that Gustavsson had covered the puck. Ryan Suter also came close to scoring for the Blues, but the replay showed the puck crossed the line after the second-period buzzer.
Kaprizov recorded assists on the Hartman and Rossi goals. He now has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 18 career games against the Blues.
The Wild continue their season-long seven game road trip at Columbus on Saturday while the Blues host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy (12) passes the puck while St. Louis Blues' Nick Leddy (4) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov (97) controls the puck while under pressure from St. Louis Blues' Matthew Kessel (51) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Minnesota Wild's Ryan Hartman (38) and St. Louis Blues' Nick Leddy (4) vie for control of the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Minnesota Wild's Matt Boldy (12) and St. Louis Blues' Pavel Buchnevich (89) vie for control of the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Minnesota Wild's Liam Ohgren (28) controls the puck while under pressure from St. Louis Blues' Justin Faulk (72) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
St. Louis Blues' Nick Leddy (4) passes the puck while under pressure from Minnesota Wild's Mats Zuccarello (36) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
St. Louis Blues' Dylan Holloway (81) controls the puck while under pressure from Minnesota Wild's Marco Rossi (23) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
St. Louis Blues' Brayden Schenn (10) handles the puck as Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin (25) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) defends against Mats Zuccarello during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) defends against St. Louis Blues' Jake Neighbours (63) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)
