Connect with us

Published

3 years ago

on

9:00 PM ET

Alex Ovechkin has reached the point where he’s setting records he didn’t even realize he was chasing.

He reached his latest milestone when he scored career goal No. 787, setting an NHL record for most goals scored by one player with a single franchise. Gordie Howe held that mark since 1971, scoring 786 goals in 1,687 games with the Detroit Red Wings over 25 seasons.

Ovechkin didn’t know about that record before this season. He didn’t hear about it from a coach or a teammate. He said he saw it on an infographic while scrolling through Instagram.

“It’s just records after records that are being broken. It’s cool to watch,” Washington Capitals teammate Marcus Johansson said. “It’s hard to put it into words. It’s just so impressive.”

Mark Howe, Gordie’s son and a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman himself, also didn’t know about the record — neither Ovechkin’s pursuit of it nor the fact that his father held it.

“He basically only had that one year in Hartford and the rest were in Detroit,” Howe said. “I thought maybe it would have been someone else’s record.”

He wasn’t surprised it was Ovechkin to claim the mark.

“It’s [because of] the way that Ovechkin has been scoring, and the pace that he does it. He’s so big, so strong and so powerful,” Howe said.

For Ovechkin, he’s proud to be something else: a Washington Capital. That’s what makes this record a special one for the 37-year-old superstar.

Here’s a look at what this record means for Ovechkin’s Washington sports legacy.

The franchise

It’s never guaranteed that a star will spend a full career with one NHL franchise. A team’s fortunes change, both on the ice and financially, where the salary cap inevitably plays a role in personnel decisions. A player’s goals change too. Franchise loyalty can’t carry one to a Stanley Cup or through the emotional drain of a rebuild.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin are all part of the same generation of stars who still play for the team that drafted them. But look at the Chicago Blackhawks, for example. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane won three Stanley Cups, yet are expected to play for different teams next season as Chicago rebuilds.

“I’m playing hockey with the team that drafted me. So right away, I have a good relationship with the organization and the whole team,” Ovechkin said. “And I’ve found very good friends in D.C. I kind of love it.”

When Ovechkin was drafted first overall in 2004, he didn’t know much about D.C.

“I knew it was the capital of the United States. Basically, that was it,” he said with a laugh.

His arrival in Washington sparked a turnaround for a franchise that had stumbled badly after making the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, including a calamitous attempt to center the Capitals around Jaromir Jagr. Ovechkin was a homegrown star whose electric play and incredible scoring rate transformed the team, on and off the ice. The “Rock the Red” era of the Capitals was born from Ovechkin’s magnetic stardom. His nine scoring titles and three MVPs underscored his impact on their fortunes.

In 2008, Ovechkin signed a 13-year, $124 million contract with the Capitals that accounted for 19% of their salary cap at the time.

“What I admired about Alex is, he never once compared himself and his deal to anybody else,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis told ESPN in August 2021. “He never asked to be traded. He never said fire a coach. It’s just a remarkable personal journey for him.”

Ovechkin said his relationship with Leonsis is one catalyst for his long tenure with the Capitals.

“He was open to me and to my family right away. A great human being. Funny, too,” he said. “He gave me lots of advice and helped me a lot during my career, because there were ups and downs. He was a big part of that success I had mentally, on the ice and off the ice.”

Ovechkin has rarely had ups and downs statistically, scoring over 40 goals in 12 of his 18 seasons. The same couldn’t be said about the Capitals.

There were some crisis-of-conscience seasons for the franchise in the decade before their Stanley Cup breakthrough in 2018. There were first-round playoff exits, criticisms of their style of play and concerns that their “Young Guns” core should be broken up because it couldn’t win. In 2014, The Hockey News went so far as to argue that Ovechkin leaving for Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League would be “a blessing in disguise” for Washington: “If he wants to, the last thing the Caps should be doing is persuading him otherwise.”

Was there ever a moment when Ovechkin was worried that he wouldn’t be a Capital at this stage of his career?

“Not really,” he said. “I think the way the relationship between my family and the organization goes, I didn’t even think to be with a different team. But I’ve always said that it’s a business. I don’t know what’s happening upstairs in the office with the GM and the owner. I think any player wants to stay as long as possible with one team.”

The fans

When he arrived in the NHL, Ovechkin stayed in Washington, D.C., for his first couple of months before getting a house in Arlington, Va. He and his family eventually settled in McLean, Va., purchasing a home in 2012. He has become part of the community, to the point where he was a man on the street interview for a local TV station while getting gas before a snowstorm.

Ovechkin is considered one of the greatest athletes to ever play professional team sports in D.C. An NBC Sports Washington ranking had him first overall, ahead of Washington football Hall of Famers Darrell Green and John Riggins as well as NBA legend Wes Unseld.

He said he’s enjoyed interacting with Washington’s other sports stars.

“We have a really good relationship with everybody,” he said. “When the Nationals were winning the championship, it was a good moment for D.C. and for each other. Because we supported each other.”

Ovechkin’s relationship with Capitals fans has been endearing. Leonsis credits his star with helping the Capitals become “a top-six or -eight ticket-selling team.”

When he partied with the Stanley Cup, the fans partied with him. Making shirtless “water angels” in a Georgetown fountain. Doing keg stands atop hockey’s holy grail. On stage at The Mall with his teammates, where he addressed the fans: “We’re Stanley Cup champions! It’s yours! Boys and girls and babes! Let’s go!”

While Capitals fans have watched Ovechkin grow up, he said he’s also watched the fans grow up around him, too.

“I’m the oldest player in the organization. I have a couple of friends now who have kids that are like 18 years old,” he said. “I remember them when they were young. And now they’re cheering for us from the stands.”

Ovechkin’s relationship with some local fans became more complicated recently. The Moscow native has been an ardent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the years. In 2017, he campaigned on behalf of Putin by starting a social media movement called Putin Team, writing, “I never made a secret of my attitude toward our president, always openly supporting him.” His Instagram profile photo features him posing with Putin.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cast that support in a new light for many fans. The Washington Post reported on Capitals fans that were conflicted with their support of Ovechkin and their opposition to the war.

“We’ve seen the Caps fail, and we’ve seen them win … and we’re always rooting for them. It takes away from the entire community, because now we’re divided,” Maryna Baydyuk, a Ukrainian who is president of United Help Ukraine, told the Post in May. “We have fans that say that Ovechkin needs to leave the team. We have fans that are now saying, ‘We don’t know.’ We have fans that are saying we support Ovechkin and the team. Now you have this division.”

Ovechkin decided to hold a press conference this past spring to address those concerns.

“He’s my president. But like I said, I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete. I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both sides,” Ovechkin said, while attempting to express an anti-war sentiment. “Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who is in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries — we have to live in peace.”

Did he feel that relationship with the fans change due to Russia’s invasion and his support of Putin?

“No. They’re fans. They support the team. I’m with them,” he said in October. “It doesn’t matter which sport. It doesn’t matter who the player is. They support the team, not the player.”

The goals

Ovechkin’s current scoring pace has him around the 40-goal mark again. He’s within range of Howe on the all-time NHL goals list, as the Hall of Famer is second overall at 801 goals. Then comes Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals.

“It’s incredible,” New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “To tell you the truth, there are certain guys that have the longevity. When you look at his body mass, how strong he is, you understand why he can play this long.”

Ruff has coached against Ovechkin every season of his career, as a head coach or an assistant coach. He calls the Capitals captain’s goal-scoring remarkable.

“I think the fact that he can sling the puck the way he slings it … he’s got a skill that nobody else has. And he still has that skill at his age,” Ruff said. “I think maybe speed-wise, maybe not quite as fast, but you see that with a lot of players that have been around. You take a Jagr. You take a Chara. They still have that one skill that’s better than any player on their team.”

Does Ovechkin have a favorite goal?

“No, they’re all goals. All my favorites,” he said.

Even the empty-netters?

“Of course. If you think it’s easy to score them, it’s not,” he said. “The other team has a man advantage. They’re putting pressure on you. It’s kind of hard. Sometimes I’m out there and sometimes I’m not. But if I’m out there, my No. 1 priority is not to let the opposite team score.”

Mark Howe believes Ovechkin will eclipse his father’s career goals mark — and that of Gretzky.

“To set these records, you have to have three things,” he said. “Obviously, you have to have a love and a passion to play. Breaking records is one thing, but you play because you love to play the game. Second, Ovi’s strength is scoring. I’ve seen a lot of scorers that put the puck in the net like nobody can, but after a while the puck starts hitting the crest instead of the corner of the net. I haven’t seen that with Ovi yet.”

“And the third thing is that there’s so much money in the game now. Back then, guys had to play to support their families. Some guys now, after a while get satisfied with what they made financially and their drive lets down a little bit. But that hasn’t happened with Ovi.”

Ovechkin signed a five-year, $47 million extension in July 2021 that will keep him in Washington through 2025-26. He said he believes that breaking the records ahead of him will take care of itself as long as he remains focused on his task with the Capitals.

“I have to do my job,” he said. “I have to play well. I have to score goals.”

Additional reporting by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

Infant son of NASCAR’s Reddick has chest tumor

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 5, 2025

By

Infant son of NASCAR's Reddick has chest tumor

  • Associated Press

Oct 5, 2025, 01:19 PM ET

CONCORD, N.C. — Tyler Reddick raced Sunday with his championship hopes on the line at the same time his infant son has been diagnosed with a tumor in his chest that is affecting his heart.

Rookie Reddick, the second of Tyler and Alexa Reddick’s two boys, was born in May, and Alexa said last week that he has been dealing with serious health complications. The couple provided an update ahead of Sunday’s race at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Reddick was starting from the pole, needing a victory to remain in contention for the Cup Series title.

Alexa Reddick posted a social media update on Rookie’s condition after Reddick’s pole-winning run, saying he has a “tumor that’s ‘choking’ the renal vein & renal artery. Telling the heart ‘Hey I’m not getting enough blood … pump harder.'”

She said it has caused an enlarged heart, and the four-month-old will need a kidney removed because doctors determined it is no longer functioning.

“He will undergo open surgery to remove his right kidney. We’re just not sure when,” she wrote. “Waiting is ok right now to give his heart a break while he’s on BP medication. They expect his heart to fully recover because it was just an innocent bystander. We have answers but a journey ahead to bring our little Cookie home.”

She added that her son was happy spending time blowing bubbles, playing and “interacting with every nurse & doctor that comes in his room.”

Reddick had kept his son’s health situation private until his wife went public before last week’s race at Kansas Speedway when she announced that Rookie was at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte showing signs of heart failure.

Reddick finally addressed Rookie’s health at Charlotte.

“Healthier is probably not the right word, but I’ve never seen him happier. His color looks good. He’s gained weight. A lot of things are going well,” Reddick said. “All that being said, some of the the tougher moments are definitely ahead. We’re definitely not in the clear. There are some things we need to get through first.

“So, on one hand, I’m really happy and it makes me feel great that he’s doing much better right now, but certainly we have some hurdles we have to get through first before we’re even thinking about leaving the hospital or thinking about what comes next.”

Reddick, who made it to the championship-deciding finale, enters Sunday’s race below the cutline of drivers who will be trimmed from 12 to eight after the race. The bottom four — Reddick, his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric — all likely need a victory Sunday to avoid elimination.

“For me, this weekend where we’re at in points, it just is what it is,” Reddick said. “I’m going to go out there and give it my best effort while I’m here certainly. For me, this week, the elimination, everything that is happening in the racing world is taking a back seat as it should.”

Denny Hamlin, co-owner of Reddick’s car, said 23XI Racing has been supportive and involved in getting Rookie the best care.

“We’ve tried to do everything we could as a company to tap into all the resources that we possibly can, to get him second, third opinions, all the things, get him in contact with specialists,” Hamlin said. “We feel not a relief, but it is a little relief that they kind of understand now what the path is forward, versus, kind of not knowing.

“I could not imagine being in their places. He’s got enough to think about. I’m sure he’s probably breathing a little sigh relief that he still goes there to do his job at a high level, given everything that’s going on off the track.”

Reddick will start alongside Shane van Gisbergen, who has won four races this year on road and street courses. The New Zealander is the heavy favorite, and any driver hoping to avoid playoff elimination will have to beat van Gisbergen.

Reddick, meanwhile, was grateful for the support he and his family have received and reflected on the emotional impact this has had on his family.

“Just countless individuals have helped out,” Reddick said. “Countless individuals have reached out, provided support whatever it might be. It’s been really eye-opening. I agree with my wife this is the hardest thing that I’ve had to go through. … Certainly being away (last week) wasn’t ideal.

“That was a decision me and her came to a conclusion on when I was in Kansas. He was going in the right direction. Yes, like I said, big things ahead that we have to fix, but for that past weekend he was stable and going in the right direction. It was difficult to stay and race [at Kansas], but we were on the same page about it. I just wanted to get off that plane so bad on Sunday night and get back to the hospital.”

Continue Reading

Sports

MLB division series Day 1: Takeaways and top moments from four-game Saturday

Published

5 hours ago

on

October 5, 2025

By

MLB division series Day 1: Takeaways and top moments from four-game Saturday

Oct 5, 2025, 12:05 AM ET

The 2025 MLB division series started with a bang on a four-game Saturday.

The Milwaukee Brewers rode a six-run first inning to a dominant win over the Chicago Cubs in the first game of the day. A second pair of division rivalries faced off as the Toronto Blue Jays slugged their way to an almost double-digit thumping of the New York Yankees. Then, in a highly anticipated NLDS showdown, Shohei Ohtani started his first career postseason game as the Los Angeles Dodgers took a late lead to secure a win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the final matchup of the night, the Detroit Tigers took the lead in the 11th inning to secure a thrilling Game 1 victory against the Seattle Mariners.

We’ve got you covered with all the action from Day 1, from the top moments to postgame takeaways from every matchup.

Key links: Mega-preview | Series outlooks | Bracket | Schedule

Jump to:
Takeaways | Top Moments

Takeaways

Detroit leads series 1-0

The Tigers nearly collapsed at the end of the end of regular season, barely hung on to a playoff spot and then took two of three in Cleveland. Now, they’ve won Game 1 of the ALDS against Seattle — on the night before their ace, Tarik Skubal, takes the mound. On Saturday, Troy Melton, the rookie right-hander coming off a brutal showing in the wild-card round, provided four quality innings. Kerry Carpenter came up with a big two-run homer against an electric George Kirby. Zach McKinstry provided a two-out, run-scoring single in the 11th inning. And, in the end, Keider Montero retired the top of the Mariners’ order to secure the victory, continuing a dominant effort from basically the entire Detroit bullpen. Keep counting out the Tigers all you want; they keep finding a way. — Alden Gonzalez

Los Angeles leads series 1-0

The Dodgers were reeling. Down 3-0, facing Cristopher Sanchez, at the house of horrors that is Citizens Bank Park, they were at risk of dropping Game 1 against Philadelphia. Then, Enrique Hernández whacked a two-run double that helped chase Sanchez. And Teoscar Hernandez followed with a three-run, opposite-field home run off reliever Matt Strahm. And with Tyler Glasnow, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki throwing three scoreless innings, the Dodgers took Game 1 on the strength of their depth more than their stars showing out. Los Angeles showed last October that its depth is as much a hallmark as its stars. As this series continues with the Dodgers having home-field advantage after securing a win on the road, the Phillies know the challenge ahead: There is no such thing as a safe lead against Los Angeles. — Jeff Passan

Toronto leads series 1-0

Add Saturday’s sixth inning to the vault of Aaron Judge‘s October troubles. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman cruised through five scoreless innings, needing just 50 pitches to secure 15 outs, before finding trouble. Anthony Volpe drove a leadoff double, Austin Wells smacked a single, and Trent Grisham walked to load the bases for Judge. The Yankees’ superstar had singled off Gausman in the first inning for his fifth hit (all singles until that point) of this postseason, and Judge has more career home runs off Gausman than any other pitcher in his career. It was a prime opportunity to supply his first major moment in these playoffs. But Judge fell short, striking out on a 3-2 slider down and away that would’ve been ball four. Cody Bellinger followed with a walk to score a run, but that’s all the Yankees scored in the frame — and in the game — after Ben Rice popped out and Giancarlo Stanton struck out.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, didn’t waste their opportunities. They went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position as they chased Luis Gil in the third inning and forced the Yankees to use five relievers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered. Alejandro Kirk homered twice. Rogers Centre, hosting its first postseason game since 2016, roared with each of the 10 runs scored. — Jorge Castillo

Milwaukee leads series 1-0

The decision to start Matthew Boyd on three days’ rest backfired on the Cubs so quickly that it’s impossible not to point to that choice as the turning point in Game 1.

Boyd wasn’t sharp down the stretch of the regular season, and after throwing 58 pitches on Tuesday, there were questions around whehter he could return to the mound so quickly and be effective. It was a head-scratching decision considering the team had a more-than-capable starter in Javier Assad ready to pitch after he was left off the wild-card roster. But Assad didn’t make the NLDS roster either — Cubs manager Craig Counsell called that a tough call — making the whole situation confusing. The Cubs blew this game long before Boyd lasted just two-thirds of an inning in Saturday’s opener. — Jesse Rogers

Top moments from Day 1

Tigers at Mariners

Detroit breaks 2-2 tie in the 11th to take the lead and win Game 1

“Julio” chants are loud in Seattle as J-Rod RBI ties the game

One swing flips the game — and Tigers take the lead

J-Rod gives Seattle crowd its first home playoff home run in 24 years

What a special moment at T-Mobile Park

Dodgers at Phillies

Roki Sasaki earns his first MLB save in Dodgers win

Teoscar Hernandez hits three-run blast to give L.A. its first lead

Dodgers get on the board thanks to a double from Enrique Hernandez

J.T. Realmuto triples to give the Phillies an early lead

Cristopher Sanchez strikes out the side to begin Game 1 — starting with Shohei Ohtani

Yankees at Blue Jays

Jays players hyped after Game 1 win

Toronto piles on with four-run inning

Jays get out of zero-out, bases-loaded jam with just one run given up

Alejandro Kirk joins in on the HR fun

Jays bust out new postseason home run jacket

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gives the Jays an early lead against Yankees

Cubs at Brewers

Milwaukee finishes off a dominant Game 1

Brewers bat around, put up six runs in first inning

Brewers answer in a hurry

Cubs come out swinging in Milwaukee

Continue Reading

Sports

With Skubal up next, Tigers notch ‘huge’ G1 win

Published

14 hours ago

on

October 5, 2025

By

With Skubal up next, Tigers notch 'huge' G1 win

  • Alden GonzalezOct 5, 2025, 12:30 AM ET

    Close

      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

SEATTLE — Zach McKinstry came to bat against Seattle Mariners right-hander Carlos Vargas with two outs, the score tied and the winning run on second base in Saturday’s 11th inning. A right-handed hitter, the free-swinging Javier Baez, loomed on deck, a much better matchup for Vargas than the left-handed-hitting McKinstry. The Mariners could have elected to intentionally walk him with first base open.

“We talked about it,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Obviously, Vargy gets the ball on the ground, and that’s what he does best, righty or lefty and, you know, he got the ball on the ground.”

That grounder bounced four times before finding the outfield grass at T-Mobile Park, hit just hard enough to evade a diving J.P. Crawford, plate Spencer Torkelson and send the Detroit Tigers — marked for dead with their season unraveling in epic fashion near the end of September — to a 3-2, extra-inning victory. After winning two of three in Cleveland to overcome the wild-card round, a Tigers team that has spent the last two weeks on the road has taken a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

A.J. Hinch, the fifth-year-manager, called these Tigers the “sum-of-the-parts team,” and it showed once again.

It began with Troy Melton, a rookie right-hander used mostly in relief this season, providing four quality innings. Seven relievers — including Keider Montero, a starting pitcher who was called on for a save — followed by holding the Mariners to one run in seven innings. In between, Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer and McKinstry provided the clutch single. Now, with ace Tarik Skubal lined up for Game 2, the Tigers have a chance to take a commanding lead in a series few saw them winning.

“It’s huge,” Carpenter said. “To get a win before the best pitcher in the world pitches is pretty special, and I feel like Skubal is made for these moments.”

The last time Melton took the ball, he recorded one out and was charged with four earned runs in the eighth inning of the second wild-card game on Wednesday. Hinch informed him via text on the plane ride to Seattle on Thursday night that he would start Game 1. He described the decision as a reflection of Melton’s stuff and poise, but really, with Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty already used this week, Hinch had few other options.

Melton responded with four innings of one-run ball in what amounted to his fifth major league start all year, allowing only a Julio Rodriguez solo homer.

“It was kind of normal for me,” Melton, 24, said. “My parents were here. I got dinner with them last night, breakfast with them today. It was like the same routine as when I pitched in college. That kind of made it a little bit more normal. Obviously this environment is a little bit different, and it means a little bit more than my college games did, but I tried to make it as normal as possible. Once I got out there, it was just about executing pitches.”

Mariners starter George Kirby didn’t just execute early; he dialed up his fastball, using the adrenaline of a home playoff start to throw his fastball consistently in the upper 90s early on, roughly two ticks faster than his season average. Kirby navigated some trouble but kept the Tigers scoreless through the first four innings while striking out eight.

In the fifth, he allowed a one-out single to Parker Meadows and got Gleyber Torres to ground out, bring up Meadows, the left-handed-hitting outfielder who was 4-for-10 with four home runs lifetime against him. Wilson had lefty Gabe Speier warming up in the bullpen, a move that would have prompted Hinch to pinch-hit with the right-handed-hitting Jahmai Jones. But Wilson decided to let Kirby face Carpenter a third time.

“It’s a tough one,” Wilson said, “and you do the best you can and try to take the information that you have and what you’re seeing. And we thought George continued to throw the ball pretty well there and still had pretty good stuff and a lot left in the tank.”

Kirby just missed inside with an 0-2 sinker. He then went to the sinker for a third straight time, but it traveled middle-up, about chest high, and Carpenter sent it 409 feet to give the Tigers a lead.

“I was seeing him well tonight, especially after that first at-bat,” Carpenter said. “I feel like I got my timing back a little bit. And I just wanted to make sure to get a good pitch to hit that at-bat, because they had a base open, and I didn’t know how they were going to pitch me. And so I felt like I was on time and had a good approach there.”

Rodriguez tied the game with an opposite-field single in the sixth, but the Mariners couldn’t do further damage in a half-inning that saw each of their first three hitters reach. Tyler Holton relieved a struggling Rafael Montero and recorded three quick outs. Tommy Kahnle, Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest followed by allowing one baserunner in four innings, setting up the game-winning sequence in the top of the 11th.

Spencer Torkelson drew a leadoff walk against Vargas, a lanky right-hander who can reach triple-digits. Wenceel Perez and Dillon Dingler struck out, but McKinstry turned on a first-pitch, 99.6-mph sinker near the middle of the zone and came up with a base-hit up the middle, deflating a sold-out crowd that has waited 24 years for the Mariners to win a home playoff game.

In the bottom half, Montero faced the top of the Mariners’ lineup and navigated it without much issue, allowing a two-out single to Rodriguez and then coming back to strike out Josh Naylor to record the first save of his pro career.

It was the realization of a dream.

“When I was in little league, they would use me like that,” Montero, a 25-year-old from Venezuela, said in Spanish, “and I always told my teammates in the minor leagues that my dream was to close out a game.”

Continue Reading

Trending