Alex Ovechkin’s two goals for the Washington Capitals on Friday secured yet another milestone for him, passing hockey legend Gordie Howe for the second-most goals scored in NHL history.
Ovechkin scored on a wrist shot in front of a friendly home crowd against the Winnipeg Jets. The goal gave Washington a 1-0 lead and tied Howe’s career high of 801 goals. As he skated over to the bench to greet his teammates, the 37-year-old received a standing ovation from the Capital One Arena crowd.
Ovechkin was selected first overall by the Capitals in the 2004 NHL draft. He leads the Capitals in games played, goals scored, points scored and playoff games played.
US faces Canada again in women’s hockey for Olympic gold
“A beautiful rivalry”
American assistant captain Hilary Knight calls it “a beautiful rivalry.” Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin sums it up as “very fun.”
Don’t be fooled by the pleasantries.
Grudge matches
One of international sports’ fiercest and longest-running grudge matches will play out for the second time at the Beijing Olympics, with the meeting Thursday between the United States and Canada determining who goes home with gold.
“This what we came here to do”
“These are the games that we live for,” US captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said following a 4-1 semifinal win over Finland. “Everyone’s been so resilient through the pandemic with the ups and downs, the cancellations, postponements and finding ways to train, and it’s for this moment. We’re going to empty the tanks, and this is what we came here to do.”
Stats
The US is the defending Olympic champion after rallying to beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
The Canadians are considered the favorites this time after steamrolling to a 6-0 record and outscoring opponents 54-8, including a 4-2 win over the US in group play.
The edge
Canada also had the edge over its cross-border rivals since Poulin scored the gold-medal-winning goal in a 3-2 overtime win over the US at the world championships in August to end the Americans’ streak of five tournament titles. Canada is 5-1-1 in the past seven meetings against the US since.
Overall at the Olympics, which added women’s hockey in 1998, Canada is 6-3 against the US, with four gold medals to the Americans’ two.
Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey player and the captain of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Washington Capitals. He is widely considered one of the best goal scorers in NHL history and has scored a large number of goals over the course of his career. He is also a three-time Hart Trophy winner, given to the NHL’s most valuable player, and has won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goal scorer, eight times. The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, DC. The team is a member of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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