The stage was fitting for Alexander Ovechkin to reach yet another milestone; playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on national television.
Even better, he wasted little time doing it. Just 35 seconds into Wednesday night’s matinee, the veteran forward performed a fancy toe-drag and snapped a wrist shot past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for his 1,000th point, which triggered a boisterous reaction from the red sea.
NHL on NBC on Twitter
35 seconds in. First shot of the game. Congrats, @ovi8, on point number 1000! #Ovech1Kin https://t.co/pLON0ifC6b
Ovechkin went on to score again for his 1,001th point as the fans at Verizon Center, in its 338th consecutive sellout, were treated to a 5-2 win over rival Pittsburgh.
“I kind of think about it before the game, everybody’s here and it will be nice to get 1,000th point at home,” said Ovechkin, who had his wife, parents and brother in attendance. “Pretty excited that it happened. It’s a big moment for organization, for myself and the fans.”
Washington Capitals on Twitter
Caps captain Alex Ovechkin talks to the media about recording his 1000th @NHL point during tonight’s 5-2 win against Pittsburgh. #Ovech1Kin https://t.co/7kOBp94FVe
Ovechkin became the 84th player in NHL history to reach the mark, the second fastest (880 games) to Jaromir Jagr, who did it in 763 games.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, however, has 983 points in 741 games, and could pass both soon.
Washington Capitals on Twitter
Ovech1Kin
Ovechkin was named the first star Wednesday with his two-goal outing. Nicklas Backstrom, who assisted on Ovechkin’s goal that gave him 1,000 points, was the second star, totaling four points (one goal and three assists) and Braden Holtby earned third star honors, producing 30 saves.
Washington Capitals on Twitter
CapsPens 3 ⭐️’s of the game: ⭐️: @ovi8 ⭐️⭐️: @backstrom19 ⭐️⭐️⭐️: @Holts170
The Capitals (27-8-1) are now a league-best 22-3-3 when scoring first and will look for their eighth straight win when they play Chicago on Friday.
