After his second goal of the game, Ovechkin skated over towards his young son in the stands and celebrated with his team, then turned to pay attention to his son.
It was an incredible sight to see from the living legend of a player. As a person that grew up on the NHL's biggest stage, hockey fans have seen Ovechkin as an eclectic younger prospect, and in recent years while chasing down Gretzky's record and after his Cup win, Ovechkin has settled into a veteran role. His almost full grey hair at 38 years old is a clear sign of that on a younger retooling Capitals team now. He's still clearly their best player too, right now scorching hot with 8 goals in the last 5 games.
After his two goal performance today against the Winnipeg Jets, leading his team to a 3-0 win, Ovechkin is creeping seriously close to the record. He's now at 848 career goals, just 46 short of Gretzky's total. Ovechkin has two more full seasons left on his contract, at the end of which he's already stated he will retire. The clock is now ticking, but it seems like a sure fire bet that Ovechkin can score 46 in the next two years and take the mantle as the NHL's best ever goal scorer.
POLL | ||
When will Ovechkin pass Gretzky? | ||
Next season | 165 | 23.7 % |
Two seasons | 309 | 44.3 % |
He won't pass him | 223 | 32 % |
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