WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin smiled that gap-toothed grin of his while standing for a commemorative photo in the locker room, holding the puck he put in the net a couple of hours earlier for his NHL-leading 50th goal.
“A good picture,” the player known as Alex the Great proclaimed.
It’s a pose he is getting used to.
Ovechkin netted No. 50 in a season for the sixth time — tying a team record in the process with his 472nd career goal — and added an assist Tuesday night to help the Washington Capitals push toward a playoff berth by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2.
Only five other players reached the half-century mark at least six times: Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy had nine, and Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur had six.
Quite a group.
“Every year is harder and harder, but it’s a huge (accomplishment) being with the names up there,” Ovechkin said. “It’s always nice. Every year, you don’t know what to expect from yourself and how you’re going to play.”
The three-time league MVP gave Washington a 2-0 lead at 11:12 of the first period, taking a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov and sending a shot from just inside the left circle past goalie Cam Ward.
Ovechkin dropped his left knee to the ice and pumped his right glove, then thrust both arms overhead. Many fans responded with chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” and then rose to give him a standing ovation when the goal was announced. Ovechkin acknowledged the support with a wave.
Ovechkin’s career goal total matches former player Peter Bondra’s with the Capitals. Ovechkin is playing in his 10th season for Washington, and Tuesday’s game was his 755th, more than 200 fewer than Bondra’s 961 with the franchise.
Thumbnail photo via Nick Wass/Associated Press
