Alex Ovechkin’s red-hot start to the NHL season came to a screeching halt on November 18th.
After scoring 13 goals in his first 17 games, his 18th of the season came on that night watching him score two goals in the 14 minutes of ice time he played. The only problem? Ovechkin broke his fibula in that game.
While the Russian Machine did finally break, it’s not taken long for him to get back up and running, eyeing a return to the Washington Capitals lineup potentially as soon as this Christmas season.
And with Ovechkin now just 27 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Monday that the league and its stakeholders are planning around what’s being dubbed “The Gr8 Chase.”
Seravalli reported that Gretzky, along with league commissioner Gary Bettman, will travel to each and every Capitals game once Ovechkin gets within five goals of the record. When the record is broken, he added, the game will stop in whichever arena it’s played in, and both Gretzky and Bettman will make a presentation to Ovechkin.
On Monday, Gretzky said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Ovechkin get ‘a little bit nervous’ in those final days.
“He’s human, he’ll get a little bit nervous near the end,” said Gretzky, who added The Gr8 will “be fine.”
“Listen, it’s good for the sport, it’s great for the game, and hopefully I’m there to shake his hand the night he breaks the record… I talk to Alex periodically. I always wish him the best. You know, he’s handled the pressure, he’s won a Stanley Cup. He’s been a big part of the NHL and a huge part of the Washington Capitals.”
It was once unfathomable to think Gretzky’s record would ever be broken. Gretzky scored goal No. 802 on March 23rd, 1994, taking a Marty McSorley pass and potting it into an open net, passing Gordie Howe’s previous record. Gretzky would go on to score another 92 over his final six seasons, putting distance not only between he and Howe.
Jaromir Jagr would get close with 766 goals, but even as Ovechkin emerged as an incredible scoring talent, it was hard to think of anybody getting close to The Great One — and now, in Ovechkin’s 20th season, he’s scoring with his team near the top of the NHL’s standings.
“What he’s done is incredible, what he’s done is remarkable, what he’s done is great for the game,” Gretzky said Monday. “More importantly, what his team has done is really, really fun. Scoring goals is one thing, but when you’re winning, it makes it way more fun.”
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
