Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin moved one step closer to catching Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time goals list when he scored against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Goal No. 850 came in the first period of Friday’s game, and it came as a result of a bouncing shot that was sent in from the blue line, Ovechkin eventually finding the rebound and sending it past Carolina netminder Pyotr Kochetkov.
He added goal No. 851 just before the end of the period, tucking in a rebound while on the doorstep.
Ovechkin is now 44 goals away from tying Gretzky’s 894 atop the NHL leaderboard after scoring his 28th goal of the season.
He’s at 61 points on the season. The Capitals, in a battle for the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference, have six regular season games remaining after Friday.