WASHINGTON — The Blackhawks became a part of history Friday, but not in a way they will celebrate.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 893rd and 894th career goals in the Capitals’ 5-3 win over the Hawks to tie Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
The only solace for the Hawks might be that they prevented him from notching his 895th. Ovechkin’s power-play blast early in the third period will be replayed many times in future highlight packages, but his next goal will likely surpass it in terms of eternal fame.
Hawks goalie Spencer Knight, given the unenviable task of starting on such a highly anticipated night, nonetheless becomes a hockey trivia answer worth remembering.
Gretzky, in attendance Friday alongside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, said he was “so happy” for Ovechkin and the league, which had heavily promoted the drama of this record chase.
“Alex said, ‘Don’t [come] here until I get to two [goals away],” Gretzky said. “I thought yesterday, ‘Gosh, we better get on the plane and get up there, because he might get three tonight.’ When he scored four minutes in, I thought, ‘Oh my God, we might be able to leave after the first period.’
“My grandfather was Russian; he’d be really happy that a Russian broke my record. So good for Alex.”
The Hawks, as they have so many times this season, let an opportunity to generate a feed-good moment slip away, blowing a 3-2 lead at the second intermission.
There was, however, plenty of respect for Ovechkin’s greatness in their locker room Friday morning, and the game outcome certainly didn’t change that.
“I’m a big historian of hockey, so I think we should honor the fact this is a pretty incredible milestone,” said Hawks captain Nick Foligno, who has faced Ovechkin 46 times throughout his career, before the game. “These are moments in time where you get to see players become legends in the league. He’s already one, but this is a pretty incredible number that he’s reaching.
“The biggest thing I take away from ‘Ovi’ is his passion: When he scores, he’s genuinely excited. I think sometimes that’s lost in the players now, where I don’t see as much excitement. This guy has done it [nearly] 900 times, and he’s still as excited as his first one. There’s something to be said about that. When you love to score goals, it attracts those to you.”
Nights like Friday provide stark reminders of how far away the Hawks are from being able to compete with the league’s best. They put up a good fight at times, but they seemed like little more than fodder for the home team’s show at other times.
General manager Kyle Davidson’s vision to — and expectation that he will — build this torn-down organization back into a Stanley Cup contender years down the road can be difficult to imagine during moments like these, regardless of the promise of their many young players and prospects.
But those young players at least gained experience in a high-intensity, high-pressure, playoff-like environment Friday, even though it didn’t go well.