Alex Ovechkin Didn’t Wait Long To Score His 1000th Point

Say what you will about the Capitals and their inability to get past the second round of the playoffs, but Ovechkin is plain and simple one of the NHL’s best pure goal scorers in league history.

Wednesday night, he got one back on them.

Just 35 seconds into the game against the Penguins, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin breaks in a roofs his 1,00th career point.

“After Montreal game (on Monday), I knew I have a chance to reach 1,000 points in front of the fans and my family and people who are back home watching on TV”, Ovechkin said. “I just shook my head”. But now that Ovechkin is one point away from 1,000 for his career, he has eased their concerns. “Ovi!” as he waved to the crowd from the bench.

That’s what Ovechkin can bring. Jaromir Jagr (763 games) is the only active National Hockey League player to reach 1,000 points faster than Ovechkin, who got there in 880. He became the first player whose entire career was played in the 21st century to tally 1,000 points and is just the 16th player to score 20 or more goals in each of his first 12 seasons.

That Ovechkin did it on Verizon Center ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby, whose shadow he has skated in since 2005, made his milestone moment the more memorable. Holtby traditionally has struggled versus the Penguins (6-7-2, 2.59 goals-against average), but owns a 1-0-1 mark in two meetings this season with a 1.44 GAA and.946 save percentage.

Barry Trotz, who has coached Ovechkin for parts of three seasons, said earlier Wednesday that the three-time Hart Trophy victor is a different player and person now than he was as a 19-year-old.

NOTES: Eller’s empty-net goal with 18 seconds left went in off Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s helmet. They outshot the Capitals 32-29 on the night, but only Malkin’s and Hornqvist’s got past Holtby. In the tournament’s 3-on-3 format last season in Nashville, Holtby made eight saves on 10 shots. He now has four straight games with at least one assist.

Despite the four goals allowed, Fleury was otherwise solid in net for the Penguins, stopping 25 shots to keep the Penguins in the game for most of the night. They also discuss the Capitals rising up the standings.

The Capitals have showed they are a very tough team to beat when they are firing on all cylinders, but there is a lot more than meets the eye. Ovechkin also ranks second in both shots taken (156) and game-winning goals (six) this season.