Washington — Alex OvechkinThe short drought is over. The countdown to another milestone may begin again.
Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season on Friday night, getting within two of 900 for his career and assisted washington capitals to one win 5-1 Above minnesota wildOvechkin went the first four games of the season without scoring a goal – not a crisis but a longer drought than at any time last season, when he scored 44 times and broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with No. 895.
That number is now up to 898 – tracked on a counter above a corner of the ice in Washington.
“The potential was there,” said the 40-year-old Ovechkin, who had 11 shots on goal in the first four games and three more on Friday. “Sometimes you just have to be patient.”
With the Caps leading 2–1 heading into the third period, dylan strom The contest was won directly by Ovechkin, who knocked the puck in off the left post.
“Obviously we try that play often, and it feels great when it works,” said Strome, who had two goals of her own. “It doesn’t always work out. This is one of those ones where it was right in the wheelhouse.”
The Capitals dropped their opener, but have won four in a row since, and they have allowed only three 5-on-5 goals all season. On Friday, they put in an impressive performance, defeating Minnesota 45-14.
It was 24-7 in shots after two periods, but Washington led only 2-1 before Ovechkin gave the Capitals their first multigoal lead of the night.
“Everything we were doing in the third period was exactly in line with how we want to play,” coach Spencer Carberry said. “The structure, people were making good decisions, pushing boundaries. It was probably our most impressive period considering the situation.”
