Alex Ovechkin wants to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record the right way.
The Washington Capitals star had an opportunity to not only score his unprecedented 895th career goal, but do it as part of a hat trick. He had two goals early in the third period to tie Gretzky at 894, but Chicago pulled its goalie while down 4-3 and gave him too good of an opportunity with an empty net.
Ovechkin could be seen telling Washington head coach Spencer Carbery he didn't want to come in, and confirmed he was doing so after the game. It was an understandable decision, as Ovechkin's next goal will be a highlight reel for decades to come.
You don't want that to be an empty-netter.
One player who did stay in was Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard, who notched his first career goal in his third career game.
Chicago put goalie Spencer Knight back in the game after that, so Ovechkin came back in and nearly got the hat trick anyway. He got four shot attempts off in the final two minutes and was agonizingly close to the record-breaking goal, but Knight had other plans.
The Capital One Arena crowd booed Knight for his efforts.
Ovechkin didn't get the hat trick, but the Capitals did get a 5-3 win. He now has six games remaining in the regular season to surpass Gretzky, with his next opportunity on Sunday on the road against the New York Islanders. If he wants to do it at home, he'll have to wait until Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The whole moment clearly means a lot to Ovechkin,
Bruins And Predators' Free Fall Could Lead To Great News
The Boston Bruins are so bad right now that it may help them more than people think.
It almost beggars belief that, coming off a 47-20-15 record last season, the Bruins are dead last in the Eastern Conference right now.
The Bruins were three points out of a wild-card spot at the NHL trade deadline when they traded Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and Justin Brazeau. They since plummeted to the East’s basement and sit 29th overall with a 30-37-9 mark. They’re also 0-9-1 in their last 10 games after losing to longtime rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, on Thursday. It’s undoubtedly painful for Bruins fans to watch.
But the Bruins’ free fall through the standings has a positive element. It means they’ve avoided the mushy middle of the East and can now have a very high draft pick – maybe even the first-overall pick, if they win the draft lottery.
Before you know it – perhaps as soon as next season – the Bruins could be right back in the thick of the playoff hunt .
After Boston GM Don Sweeney sold at the trade deadline, Boston is committed to about $66.7 million in salary cap space next season. With the cap ceiling slated to rise to $95.5 million, that leaves the Bruins with about $29 million in cap space, which gives them leeway to spruce things up in the off-season. They do have six RFAs to take care of and five UFAs, but if they want to make changes and go big in free agency, they can.
But if the draft goes in their favor, Boston would have a draft pick in the top half of the first round for the first time since 2016, when they selected defenseman Charlie McAvoy 14th overall.
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