Connect with us

Published

on

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has scored goal No. 800 — reaching the feat with a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 13, the 29th of his career.

Go inside Ovechkin’s journey to 800 — and what comes next — with our Ovechkin 800 project, narrated by Emily Kaplan.

Ovi is third on the all-time NHL goals list, behind Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801). The next highest active player on the list is Sidney Crosby, at No. 34 with 534 goals. With his 787th goal, Ovechkin set the record for most goals scored with the same franchise. With goal No. 793, he passed Gretzky for the most goals scored on the road for a career (403).

Follow along here as Ovi scores his way up the record books, including a schedule of upcoming games and highlight videos of goals No. 787 and beyond.

Subscribe to ESPN+ | Stream the NHL on ESPN
Upcoming schedule | Goal videos


The NHL’s top 10 in career goals

1. Wayne Gretzky (894)
2. Gordie Howe (801)
3. Alex Ovechkin (800)
4. Jaromir Jagr (766)
5. Brett Hull (741)
6. Marcel Dionne (731)
7. Phil Esposito (717)
8. Mike Gartner (708)
9. Mark Messier (694)
10. Steve Yzerman (692)


Highlights

Goal No. 798, 799 and 800

Just 24 seconds into their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Ovi scored No. 798, assisted by John Carlson and Conor Sheary.

play

0:46

Alex Ovechkin finds the net 24 seconds into the game for goal 798 as the Capitals lead 1-0.

Later in the first period, Ovi found paydirt again, this time a power-play goal assisted by Sheary and Sonny Milano.

play

0:48

Alex Ovechkin notches goal 799 and his second of the game as the Capitals pad their lead to 2-0.

At 6:34 of the third period, Ovechkin made history, finishing off his hat trick and notching goal No. 800. The assists on the tally went to Anthony Mantha and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

play

1:32

Alex Ovechkin gets his 800th goal in style, rounding out a hat trick against the Blackhawks.

Goal No. 797

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: With the Caps leading near the end of their win over the Winnipeg Jets, Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal. Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov picked up the assist on the goal.

play

0:29

Alex Ovechkin puts the icing on the Capitals’ win against the Jets.

Goal No. 796

At 19:56 of the third period against the Seattle Kraken, Ovechkin fired a shot into an empty net to put him four goals away from 800. The empty-net goal was assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson.

play

0:45

Alex Ovechkin collects the puck and slings in his 796th career goal on an empty net against the Kraken.

Goals No. 794 and 795

With the Capitals up 2-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin was on the ice to close out the game — and scored two empty-net goals! The first was assisted by Anthony Mantha and John Carlson, while the second was assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Conor Sheary.

play

1:06

Alex Ovechkin tallies twice on an empty net and now has 795 career goals.

Goals No. 792 and 793

Ovechkin scored two goals in the first period of the Capitals’ matchup against the Vancouver Canucks — the first unassisted and the second with help from Dylan Strome and Anthony Mantha. Ovechkin has now passed Wayne Gretzky for most goals all time on the road.

play

0:39

Alex Ovechkin slaps in his second goal of the game to put the Capitals up 2-0 against the Canucks.

play

0:40

Alex Ovechkin jumps on the loose puck and notches his 792nd career goal vs. the Canucks.

Goal No. 791

A victory over the Calgary Flames was already well in hand, but Ovechkin’s goal at 12:24 of the third period — assisted by Conor Sheary and Sonny Milano — put him nine away from 800.

play

0:52

Alex Ovechkin tallies goal for Capitals on the power play

Goal No. 790

At 1:04 of overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin notched a game-winning goal assisted by Dylan Strome and Erik Gustafsson.

play

0:45

Alex Ovechkin wins it for the Capitals with this clutch slap shot in overtime vs. the Flyers.

Goal No. 789

A goal at 15:12 of the second period against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 17 moved Ovechkin one step closer to 800. Dylan Strome was credited with the one assist on the tally.

play

0:42

Alex Ovechkin nets goal vs. Blues

Goal No. 788

Ovechkin scored at 14:36 of the second period in a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 7, a power-play goal assisted by Erik Gustafsson and Evgeny Kuznetsov:

play

0:32

Alex Ovechkin scores on the power play for Capitals

Goal No. 787

With his goal at 8:55 of the second period — a power-play tally assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Anthony Mantha — Ovechkin broke Gordie Howe’s record for most goals scored by a player with a single franchise:

play

0:53

Alex Ovechkin scores his 787th career goal to break Gordie Howe’s record of most goals with one team.


Upcoming schedule

Note: All games not on ESPN, TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).

Dec. 15: vs. Dallas Stars
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 17: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+/NHL Network

Dec. 19: vs. Detroit Red Wings
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 22: at Ottawa Senators
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 23: vs. Winnipeg Jets
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 27: at New York Rangers
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 29: vs. Ottawa Senators
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Dec. 31: vs. Montreal Canadiens
4 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 3: vs. Buffalo Sabres
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 5: at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 ET | ESPN

Jan. 6: vs. Nashville Predators
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 8: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
5 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 11: at Philadelphia Flyers
7:30 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 14: vs. Philadelphia Flyers
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 16: at New York Islanders
7:30 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 17: vs. Minnesota Wild
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 19: at Arizona Coyotes
9 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 21: at Vegas Golden Knights
10 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 24: at Colorado Avalanche
9 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 26: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 29: at Toronto Maple Leafs
5 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Jan. 31: at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+

Continue Reading

Sports

Reds’ Burns fans 1st 5 hitters in his MLB debut

Published

on

By

Reds' Burns fans 1st 5 hitters in his MLB debut

CINCINNATI — Rookie Chase Burns became the first starting pitcher in the expansion era to strike out the first five batters he faced in his major league debut.

He was not able to carry the momentum through the rest of the game.

The 22-year old Cincinnati Reds right-hander, the second overall pick in last July’s amateur draft, allowed three runs over five innings Tuesday night in a 5-4, 11-inning win over the New York Yankees.

Burns struck out his first five batters before Jazz Chisholm Jr‘s single. He gave up six hits and struck out eight, the seventh Cincinnati starter to have at least that many in his first career start.

“We watched for everything,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of Burns. “He didn’t get too excited. I think he enjoyed the competition. There’s a lot to like.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Burns also joined the Yankees’ Al Leiter and Tampa Bay’s Wade Davis as the only pitchers since 1961 whose first six outs in their debuts were strikeouts. Both gave up a run during the first two innings.

Burns struck out seven of the his first 10 hitters and allowed only one hit until Ben Rice led off the fourth by connecting on a hanging slider that went 413 feet and two-thirds of the way into the right field sun deck at Great American Ball Park.

Aaron Judge followed with a base hit. Burns retired the next two hitters, Chisholm got aboard with a single and Anthony Volpe hit a two-run triple when center fielder TJ Friedl made an ill-advised dive and the ball got by him.

“I think he’s a good pitcher,” Francona said. “I don’t think him giving up a couple runs is going to make somebody fold. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have brought him up.”

Burns averaged 98.1 mph with 48 fastballs, topping out with a pair at 100.1 mph in the first inning. He threw 24 sliders, eight changeups and one curveball. New York was 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in his first time through the order and 5-for-9 with a triple and home run the second time through.

Burns threw 53 of 81 pitches for strikes. His first big league pitch was a 98.4 mph fastball to Trent Grisham that just caught the inside corner of the plate. He got Judge to chase a 91.1 mile slider for the third out in the first inning.

“I guess you have to say Judge. I have watched him. He’s a big dude and one of the best hitters in the game,” Burns said when asked if any one strikeout stood out more than the others. “It was probably my favorite one.”

Burns fell behind 3-0 on three of the first 10 batters before ending up with strikeouts, and started 11 of 21 batters with strikes and induced 12 swing and misses. He is the fifth first-round selection from last year’s draft to reach the majors, joining Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, Angels second baseman Christian Moore and Astros outfielder Cam Smith, who was selected by the Cubs before going to Houston in the Kyle Tucker trade last December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Latz’s no-hit bid could land him in Texas rotation

Published

on

By

Latz's no-hit bid could land him in Texas rotation

BALTIMORE — Jacob Latz might have earned a spot in the Texas Rangers‘ rotation.

Manager Bruce Bochy says he’ll consider it.

“Of course,” Bochy said. “He’s a weapon whether he starts or he’s in the bullpen, but he’s stretched out. You’ve heard me say he’s got starter’s stuff.”

Latz took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Tuesday night against Baltimore, and although the Rangers blew a four-run lead, they recovered to win 6-5 in 10 innings. Latz set career highs in innings pitched (six-plus) and pitches (88) and lowered his ERA on the season to 3.22.

“I don’t know the plans going forward. I was kind of just trying to soak it all up today,” Latz said. “It was just a lot of fun out there.”

In his third career start and second of the season, Latz didn’t allow a hit until Ramon Laureano singled to center to start the bottom of the seventh. A walk later, Latz was removed, but a 4-0 Texas lead didn’t last much longer.

Chris Martin came on and gave up homers to each of his three batters — Gary Sanchez, Ramon Urias and Ryan O’Hearn — and left with the Rangers down 5-4. But a sacrifice fly by Jonah Heim the following inning tied it, and Evan Carter slid home safely on Sam Haggerty‘s grounder in the 10th.

Latz walked three and struck out four — including the last three hitters of the fifth inning. His previous longest outing in the majors was Thursday, when he threw 5 2/3 innings of relief in a loss to Kansas City.

“That’s one of the better jobs in all of baseball — to be a starting pitcher,” Latz said. “I’m not going to say I don’t want to be a starting pitcher. Obviously I do. I’m comfortable either way obviously. If it’s in the rotation, it’s great.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Pirates remove Cruz after he loses track of outs

Published

on

By

Pirates remove Cruz after he loses track of outs

MILWAUKEE — Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz said he lost track of the outs when he didn’t run out a double-play grounder, a move that led to his removal in his club’s 9-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

The Pirates trailed 7-3 and had a runner on first with one out in the seventh when Cruz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Cruz slowed down after the Brewers got the force play at second, and he said afterward he believed that was the third out of the inning.

Pirates manager Don Kelly removed Cruz in favor of a defensive replacement in the eighth inning and said it was due to Cruz’s “energy and effort going down the line.” Cruz said after the game he understood Kelly’s decision.

“DK had all the rights to do what he did, and I’ll back him up on that,” Cruz said through an interpreter. “It was my fault because I thought there were two outs in that situation. That’s why I let off running to first base.”

Kelly said he explained to Cruz the reason for the benching.

“We talked,” Kelly said. “He knows the expectation. Right there, I feel we fell a little short.”

When he was asked whether Cruz would be back in the starting lineup Wednesday, Kelly was noncommittal.

“We’re going to sit down and talk, and we’ll figure that out,” Kelly said.

Cruz, 26, has batted just .156 (12-of-77) with 31 strikeouts this month after having a productive start to the season that included owning a .911 OPS in early May and hitting a 122.9 mph homer against the Brewers on May 25. That homer was the hardest-hit ball since Statcast started tracking that data in 2015.

Cruz is now hitting .208 with a .321 on-base percentage, a .404 slugging percentage, 13 homers, 31 RBIs and 26 steals in 71 games.

“He’s struggling at the plate right now,” Kelly said. “It’s difficult when you’re going through that and trying to figure it out. He’s working hard to do that. That’s one thing we’ve got to be mindful of, is not letting that offense carry over to defense and base running, and the energy and effort that we’re giving on any other aspects of the game as well.”

Cruz said his hitting slump “had nothing to do with what happened today” and isn’t impacting his focus on the basepaths or in the field. But he also said he appreciated Kelly’s instructions to him and noted how he can learn from veteran teammates Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham.

“They’re a really good example,” Cruz said. “They always run hard. They always go out there to do their 100%. That’s a teaching point for me. I accepted the way DK came to me and explained it and presented it to me.”

Continue Reading

Trending