Rangers coach ‘really happy’ Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s ‘massive record’ with 895th goal
Though Peter Laviolette wasn’t at UBS Arena Sunday afternoon when Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal to pass Wayne Gretzky for most all-time in NHL history, the New York Rangers coach is thrilled for the player he previously coached for two seasons.
“He’s an incredible goal scorer. If he puts the puck on net it’s got a chance of going in, and he puts it there often, he has his whole career,” Laviolette shared after Rangers practice Sunday. “Really happy for him. He was great to work with my time there in Washington and he’s done nothing but continue on his whole entire career just finding the back of the net. Like I said, it was only a matter of time before he got here.”
Laviolette coached Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for two seasons from 2021-23. Ovechkin lit the lamp often with Laviolette behind the Capitals bench, scoring 50 goals in 77 games during the 2021-22 season and following up with 42 goals in 73 games the following season.
During that span, Ovechkin passed Gordie Howe for the second-most goals in NHL history, scoring No. 802 against the Winnipeg Jets in December of 2022.
“In my time there, he was working toward No. 2 and eventually got it. So, then it becomes more and more on the table (passing Gretzky for No. 1 all-time), and talked about more and looked at more,” Laviolette said. “Now, being away from it, [I’m] watching it from the outside. In that time there, it was a lot of fun watching that as he was chasing down No. 2.”
When Ovechkin dipped to 31 goals last season and then was completely shut down by the Rangers in their four-game sweep of the Capitals in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, many questioned if The Great 8 could catch Gretzky or if it would take a couple seasons to do so. In addition, there were concerns that his chase of an individual record might hamper the Capitals progression as a team.
The complete opposite happened this season. The Capitals (49-19-8) are the top team in the Eastern Conference and Ovechkin’s scored a whopping 42 goals in 61 games, despite missing 16 due to a fractured fibula earlier in the season. His chase of The Great One’s record captured the attention of hockey fans worldwide, and he roared to the finish line, scoring six goals in his past five games.
After tying Gretzky by scoring a pair Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks, Ovechkin scored a power-play goal from his office in the left circle at 7:26 of the second period against Islanders goalie — and fellow Russian — Ilya Sorokin to break what was long considered to be an unbreakable record.
“It’s big news inside the League, too, everyone keeps an eye on it, everybody’s tuned into it,” Laviolette explained. “It’s a massive record, it’s the biggest record, it’s a home run type record. For that reason, everyone watches it.”
To that end, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper and general manager Julien BriseBois — in town to play the Rangers on Monday — attended the game on Long Island on Sunday to witness history first-hand.
Related: Rangers week ahead includes biggest 4-game stretch of season
Rangers trying to keep playoff hopes alive despite falling 6 points out of second wild card
Laviolette couldn’t be there because he was on the ice with the Rangers, who face a hugely important four-game week, beginning against the Lightning. The Rangers (36-33-7) are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with six games to play. To Keep their playoff hopes alive, the Rangers just may have to sweep all four games this week and possibly win out.
That’s going to be difficult, especially because the Rangers haven’t won more than two straight games in five months, not since a three-game winning streak Nov. 14-19.
They were shut out by the New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Saturday, a demoralizing defeat and third in four games against their Hudson River rivals this season.
Laviolette is on the hot seat, just as he was following his second season with the Capitals. He guided Washington to a playoff berth in 2021-22, but the Capitals finished sixth in the eight-team Metropolitan Division the following season, and he was fired.
The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and set franchise records for wins (55) and points (114) last season, in Year 1 under Laviolette. They reached the Eastern Conference Final and were two wins away from playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Now, it’d take a monster finish to even qualify as the eighth seed in the East. Which is unlikely. Leaving Laviolette’s future in doubt the coming weeks.
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