Columbus, April 15: In what may be the final game of his illustrious career, Alex Ovechkin contributed an assist as the Washington Capitals triumphed over the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Tuesday night. This match marked the season finale for both teams.
Ovechkin provided the second assist on Jakob Chychrun’s power-play goal with just 4:07 left in the third period. He concluded the season as the Capitals’ leading scorer, netting 32 goals and accumulating 64 points.
Anthony Beauvillier also found the net for Washington, while goaltender Clay Stevenson made 27 saves. For Columbus, Boone Jenner scored, and Jet Greaves recorded 19 saves.
Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer with 929 goals, is in the final year of his contract. He has indicated that he will wait until after the season to determine his future.
This season marks a rare miss for the Capitals, who have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only the fifth time since Ovechkin was drafted in 2004.
At 40 years old, Ovechkin became one of only five players aged 40 or older in NHL history to participate in all 82 regular-season games. The last player to achieve this feat was Jaromir Jagr with the Florida Panthers during the 2016-17 season. Remarkably, this is the fifth time in his 21-year career that Ovechkin has not missed a regular-season game.
The Blue Jackets, who were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference when Rick Bowness took over as coach on January 12, initially showed promise with an 18-2-4 record in Bowness’ first 24 games. However, they faltered down the stretch, finishing with a 3-9-1 record and missing the postseason for the sixth consecutive year.
Jenner opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the second period with a shot from the slot that beat Stevenson on his blocker side. Beauvillier equalized 10 minutes later, breaking free from the Blue Jackets’ defense to score on a wrist shot after receiving a long pass from Trevor Van Riemsdyk.
Leave a Comment