Alex Ovechkin scores No. 499 with lots of style
Too bad Alex Ovechkin's overtime goal on Saturday was No. 499 -- it was so sweet, it deserved to be his 500th.
Coming after a spectacular save by Braden Holtby -- the NHL's winningest goaltender -- Ovechkin gave the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. He corralled the puck behind the net, then rushed the length of the ice to fire a wrist shot past Henrik Lundqvist for the victory.
"You don't see a highlight goal every game, but it's moments like this that he shows up," Caps center Nicklas Backstrom said, via The Associated Press. "They can't do anything about it. It's just amazing."
Ovechkin and the Caps have to hope that the wait for his milestone score isn't like the last one. Back in November, Ovechkin sat in a tie with Sergei Federov for most NHL goals by a Russian-born player for nearly two weeks before finally breaking the tie on Nov. 19. Twice Ovechkin appeared to score his 484th, only to have the goals denied on replay.
Ovechkin seems rather chill about sitting on the precipice of such a big number. When he next scores, Ovechkin will become the 43rd player in NHL history to reach 500.
"I'm going to score one goal, sooner or later," Ovechkin said. "To be honest, I didn't think about it. I'll probably think about it tomorrow before the game."
And here's a cool stat to show Ovechkin's consistency:
Ovechkin played in his 800th NHL game today. He has scored 250 goals in 400 home games, 249 goals in 400 road games. #Caps #consistent
— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) January 9, 2016
