WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals held a pre-game ceremony Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets to honor captain Alex Ovechkin for making history and passing Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL’s goal scoring list. During the ceremony, Ovechkin received a special gift from the organization, the National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players’ Association and his teammates.
Ted Leonsis, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Capitals president Dick Patrick, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Mark Howe will join Ovechkin’s wife Nastya, kids Sergei and Ilya, mom Tatyana and brother Mikhail on the ice to honor Ovechkin.
Capitals players wore #8 on their jerseys for warmups, which will be signed and auctioned off by Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation at a later date.
As part of the evening’s festivities, 200 designated season ticket members lined the player arrival hallway to welcome Ovechkin and the team to the game. Fans along the glass for warmups were given cutouts of Ovechkin’s image in celebration of the milestone. Fans were also invited to stop by an Ovechkin themed throne comprised of more than 802 hockey pucks on the 100-level concourse, as well as a photobooth featuring Ovechkin-themed props
Even more history was made on the ice during Tuesday's game.
Minutes after the pregame ceremony in his honor, Ovechkin scored his 40th goal of the season. He has now scored 40 goals in a season 13 times, the most in league history, breaking a tie with Wayne Gretzky, who did it 12 times.
With the goal, Ovechkin is at 820 for his career. He needs 75 to break Gretzky’s record of 894 that has long seemed unapproachable.
For all the celebrations and history though, the Caps blew a three-goal lead and lost 7-6 in overtime to the NHL-worst Columbus Blue Jackets.