Alex Owetschkin makes his first appearance in the NHL after a 40-day injury layoff and continues to close in on Wayne Gretzky's scoring record. The Swiss remain scoreless.
29.12.2024, 07:23
29.12.2024, 08:13
SDA
Ovechkin missed the last 16 matches with the Washington Capitals due to a fractured fibula. It was the 39-year-old Russian's longest absence since he made his NHL debut almost 20 years ago. On his return in Toronto (5-2), he made his grand entrance in the fourth-to-last minute when he scored into an empty net.
Owetschkin's 869th NHL goal brought him within 25 goals of Wayne Gretzky's record (894). The veteran from Moscow already owns the league record for "empty-netters": the one in Toronto was the 60th of his NHL career.
Thanks to the win, the Washington Capitals moved to within one point of the leaders, the New Jersey Devils, in the Eastern Conference. One day after winning at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, the latter lost 2:5 away against the same opponent. Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler remained without scoring points.
Kevin Fiala, Nino Niederreiter and Pius Suter were also in action on Saturday. Fiala won with the Los Angeles Kings at home against the Edmonton Oilers 4:3 after overtime, Suter lost with the Vancouver Canucks to the Seattle Kraken 4:5 after overtime. Nino Niederreiter and the Winnipeg Jets, the league's current top team, won their Canadian clash with the Ottawa Senators 4:2 at home.