WASHINGTON (AP) — Coaching Alex Ovechkin for three seasons has normalized his hot pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record for Peter Laviolette.
“Not a crazy thing at all," Laviolette said before his New York Rangers faced Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Saturday. “I don’t see him slowing down.”
Nope, not slowing down.
Ovechkin scored the fifth goal in a 7-4 win to get No. 872 and move 23 back of breaking Gretzky's record of 894 that long seemed unapproachable. He has four in five games since returning from missing the previous 16 with a broken leg.
“It’s incredible,” teammate Connor McMichael said. “Ever since I was a kid, I grew up watching him do all these amazing things, and now to have a front-row seat to him doing something really special has been awesome. He’s been helping our team win night in and night out, so I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Ovechkin is one away from reaching 20 goals in all 20 of his seasons in the league. The broken left fibula paused the Gretzky chase, but the 39-year-old has returned with a vengeance.
“To be honest with you, I feel every game better — touches, skating wise," Ovechkin said. “I’ll take it.”
Center Dylan Strome, who has assisted on 14 of Ovechkin's 19 goals, said, “It just feels like he gets on these runs.” Because of these runs, Ovechkin remains on pace to pass Gretzky this spring.
“Obviously, he’s an all-time great,” Capitals winger Andrew Mangiapane said. “Just seeing his every day kind of lifestyle and seeing him on the ice and every time he scores, it’s a great kind of feeling and I think it pumps up everyone on our bench.”
Laviolette, who coached Washington from 2021-23, praised Ovechkin's shot as being the best in the world but pointed more to his work ethic than anything else to explain how the scoring has continued.
“He’s a guy that just doesn’t stop,” Laviolette said. “He wants to get better. He’s going to play hurt. He’s going to play injured. He’s going to get out there (and) he’s going to try and make a difference for his team.”
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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) competes for the puck with New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, left, scores a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, center, celebrates his goal with his teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) celebrates with left wing Alex Ovechkin after scoring a goal in the third period goal of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
HONOLULU (AP) — A 3-year-old boy who died Monday was the fourth person to succumb to injuries from a massive explosion of fireworks on New Year's Eve at a Honolulu home, and a doctor said six others faced long recoveries in Arizona, where they were sent to be treated for severe burns.
The blast also killed three women and injured more than 20 people, many of whom have burns over most of their bodies.
The Honolulu medical examiner identified the toddler as Cassius Ramos-Benigno. The cause and manner of death were listed as pending.
The U.S. military flew six of the injured to Phoenix for treatment on Saturday because Hawaii’s lone burn center doesn’t have enough capacity to care for all the victims.
After the disaster, Hawaii's leaders intensified their oft-repeated calls to crack down on the state's vast illegal fireworks trade with stepped-up enforcement and greater penalties.
The six taken to Arizona are all in their 20s or 30s and have extensive burns, Dr. Kevin Foster, the director of the Arizona Burn Center, said at a news conference streamed online.
The person with the least has burns over 45% of their body while the most has burns over nearly 80% of their body. Each of the six is using a breathing tube and most are in medically induced comas.
Foster said they are all doing “very well” and have good vital signs. But it will be six months to a year before any are able to return to anything resembling a normal life, Foster said. Four patients will likely have to remain intubated and in a coma for months, he said.
The patients will likely suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, Foster said, adding the burn center has two full-time psychologists and a psychiatrist hospital on staff to help them.
“There’s something uniquely and particularly horrifying about being burned, especially from this type of injury,” Foster said. “And we anticipate that all of these patients are going to have some adjustment issues.”
Many required emergency surgery before leaving Hawaii and a number had traumatic injuries in addition to burns, because of the explosions and resulting projectiles, he said.
The Arizona Burn Center operated on all six on Sunday, performed three other surgeries Monday and plan three others Tuesday. By then, doctors should be done with removing burns and will progress to closing wounds and grafting skin, Foster said. Infections are the most dangerous and feared complication for burn patients, he said, while also predicting all would likely get them at some point.
“It’s just the way burn injury works, especially when you have large percent-of-total-body-surface-area burns like this,” Foster said.
The scars, and the physical limitations that come with them, will likely be the biggest thing that the patients have to deal with and are what will make these wounds lifelong injuries, he said.
Foundations affiliated with the burn center and the hospital it is a part of, Valleywise Health, are providing housing for patient relatives. Some burn center employees have even volunteered their homes, Foster said.
Hawaii’s diverse population has long celebrated New Year’s with fireworks, but in recent years, professional-grade aerial explosives have been growing in popularity even though they are illegal for amateurs. Neighborhoods across Oahu light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets in front of their homes.
Honolulu authorities say a person attending a party lit a bundle of aerial fireworks, which fell on its side and shot explosives into two crates that contained additional aerials. Video of the resulting explosion shows a rapid series of blasts shooting fireworks in the air and around the front of a house.
Hawaii’s counties have varying rules on other types of fireworks. On Oahu, the state’s most populous island, only certain types of firecrackers are allowed to be used during specific timeframes on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Fourth of July. However, many residents set off fireworks of all kinds year-round.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.
People walk past the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A woman sweeps debris from a driveway across the street from the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
Evelyn Paguirigan points to broken windows at her home across the street from where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people in Honolulu, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A woman walks in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A woman stands in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A damaged vehicle is seen near the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
Fireworks debris is seen outside the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
