By Madison Raikes, Staff Writer
Washington Capitals superstar left winger Alexander Ovechkin recently surpassed Jaromir Jagr for third most NHL goals of all time. Jagr had 766 goals throughout his 24 season career, beaten out by Ovechkin during the Capitals’ game against the New York Islanders on March 15th. In second for all time NHL goals is the late right winger Gordie Howe at 801 goals, and Wayne Gretzky at 894 goals.
Ovechkin was drafted in 2005, and has since been named captain, and gone on to lead the team to victory in the 2018 Stanley Cup finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. He currently has 772 NHL goals under his belt, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Although Ovechkin is one of the greatest of all time, he isn't the whole team. Many other players have contributed to the Caps’ success in recent years, and have had accomplishments of their own. Right winger #91 Joe Snively, a 26 year-old Herndon native and longtime Caps fan was called up from the Caps’ minor league affiliate team, the Hershey Bears, and scored his first NHL goal against the Montreal Canadiens on February 10th. Axel Jonsson-Fjällby, #45, is another player who scored his first NHL goal this season, in the same game Ovechkin beat out Jagr’s record.
After back-to-back wins last weekend against the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, the Caps fell 6-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes last night. While the Canes are among this year’s cup favorites, the Caps should not be counted out so soon. Currently, the Caps are alongside the Boston Bruins as wild cards for the Eastern Conference. One more month remains before the regular season wraps up, and the Caps look to pave a way for themselves to the playoffs.