Alex Ovechkin records 1,000th career NHL point
Alex Ovechkin has hit another career milestone.
The Washington Capitals captain recorded the 1,000th point of his career in Wednesday's game against the Metropolitan Division-rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Appropriately, it came on a goal.
Ovechkin scored in the first minute of Wednesday's contest, showing great patience in scoring his 20th goal of the season.
“I kind of think about it before the game, everybody’s here and it will be nice to get 1,000th point at home,” Ovechkin, whose family was in the building, said to The Associated Press. “Pretty excited that it happened. It’s a big moment for organization, for myself and the fans.”
The goal not only marked point No. 1,000, it also moved Ovechkin past hockey legend Maurice Richard for sole possession of 29th on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 545 goals. Ovechkin has won the Maurice Richard Trophy given to the NHL's top goal-scorer six times in his career, including the past four.
Ovechkin is the 84th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and the fourth player born in Russia — Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Mogilny and Alexei Kovalev the prior three — to hit the mark.
“He should be honored like that if you reach 1,000 in the amount of games he has,” Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said to the AP. “It’s pretty impressive. All the credit to him. He’s an unreal player and he’s been fun to watch.”
The celebration continued in the second period as Ovechkin scored another goal on the power play. The Capitals went on to defeat the Penguins 5-2.