The Washington Capitals’ star center Alex Ovechkin returned to action on Saturday night after five weeks of absence and immediately resumed his chase for Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career scoring record.
Ovechkin scored in the Capitals’ 2-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and now has 869 career goals in the NHL. This makes him just 26 goals shy of Gretzky, who scored 894 goals over the course of his time in the league.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Capitals’ head coach Spencer Carbery said the team was eager to welcome their best player back. Ovechkin went down back in mid-November after breaking his fibula against the Utah Hockey Club.
“The obvious thing [Ovechkin brings] is the goal scoring,” Carbery said. “But I even just think the threat of him being able to score, I think it lifts up our entire group. Him being in the lineup, his presence, his infectious personality, demeanor and him being on the ice … everybody in the building, along with our 19 other players, believe that he can score, and that lifts our entire group up.”
Despite turning 39 in September, Ovechkin was having an outstanding start of the season. In 18 games he played before the injury, he was the league leader with 15 goals while having a total of 25 points.
The Capitals went 10-5-1 without Ovechkin. They are currently sitting second in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-9-2 record.
