Selfless Play by Alex Ovechkin Stuns Fans During Goal Record Chase
Photo credit: Yahoo Sports
Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin turned heads everywhere in last night's game with his selfless play to give a teammate a goal rather than collect another for himself.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is only a handful of goals away from tying and then passing Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.
With time running out in the year, he still has a chance to get it done before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin - but his act of selflessness during last night's game against the Anaheim Ducks has gone viral.
While Ovechkin had the chance to score on the Ducks' open net, he instead passed the puck to teammate Aliaksei Protas, who scored to pick up his 1st career hat trick.
Even with Capitals fans in attendance at Honda Center chanting Ovechkin's name, he still deferred to his teammate - a gesture that Protas appreciated.
I just saw the eye contact with Ovi. An unreal accomplishment coming up and he makes that play, you know? And how happy he is for me. That says everything about him as a teammate. Happy to get it.
Protas not only picked up the hat trick but also now has a new career-high in goals with 28, a tremendous accomplishment considering he only scored 29 total points (6G, 23A) last year.
It was also his 1st hat trick since his days of playing in the WHL in 2019.
It was in the WHL, in Edmonton. I believe it was in 2019, sometime around the beginning of May.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin remains 8 goals away from tying Gretzky's all-time record of 894 career NHL goals.
| POLL | ||
MARS 12 | 277 ANSWERS Selfless Play by Alex Ovechkin Stuns Fans During Goal Record Chase Will Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's goal record this year? | ||
| Yes | 203 | 73.3 % |
| No, it will be next year | 74 | 26.7 % |
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