Ovechkin Could Reach 8th 50-Goal Season

Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-highest 45th goal of the season for the Washington Capitals against the New York Rangers.

The Monday night game, which the Capitals won over the Rangers 4 – 2, was a comfortable victory for Washington. The Capitals scored their 4 goals in the first period and maintained control from then on.

T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington. Nicklas Backstrom, who had four assists in a win over Montreal on Saturday, added two more, for 44 this season. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves.

Lias Andersson, making his NHL debut, scored for the rangers. Mats Zuccarello also added a goal for New York. Washington increased its lead to five points over the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

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Alex Ovechkin now needs five goals in the remaining 6 NHL games to reach 50 for the season. The Washington Capitals captain is chasing his eighth 50-goal season after a disappointing record last season.

Last season, Alex Ovechkin finished with 33 goals, which was 17 down on the year before. You might put this down to his time on the ice last year – 18:22 per game. Previously, he’d never averaged less than 19:48.

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If Ovechkin reaches 50 this year, he would be the third NHL player to score 50 goals in 8 seasons. The only other players to do this are Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, who scored each scored 50 in 9 seasons. Ovechkin would also become the fifth player to have a 50-goal season over the age of 32.

“Everything is in my hands,” Ovechkin said. “Of course as you get closer and closer, you want to get it done.”