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GOTTA SEE IT: Capitals Give Ovechkin Axe, Standing Ovation For Milestone

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Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin

The Washington Capitals didn’t get the win back on Wednesday in Vegas, so they didn’t distribute the shield and axe given to their top offensive and defensive players for each game. But, after a 2-0 victory over the Coyotes on Friday, Garnet Hathaway had the Golden Knights game in mind and made an easy decision with regards to the axe.

Hathaway congratulated John Carlson on establishing a new single-season career-high in goals against Arizona, but handed the axe over to Ovechkin, who reached 50 goals for the ninth time in his career with a two-goal outing back on Wednesday. As he accepted the prize, his teammates stood up and broke out in a lengthy standing ovation.

The Great 8 tied Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history. He also became the oldest player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season. His 158 multi-goal outings also tied Gordie Howe for second all-time.

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In the bigger picture, Ovechkin is now at 780 career goals, which ranks third all-time. He is 20 away from 800, 22 from passing Gordie Howe and 115 from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.

The Capitals will also honor Ovechkin for passing Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL’s all-time goal list with a pregame ceremony on Tuesday. Washington faces the New York Islanders, the team he scored No. 767 against, that night.