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Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals - In Play! magazine
Alex Ovechkin scored the tying tally to bring The Gr8 Chase within its final 10 goals and help the Capitals gain ground on the idle Jets for first place in the League standings. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
06
Mar

NHL RECAP MARCH 5, 2025 – OVECHKIN SCORES TYING GOAL TO CLIMB WITHIN 10 OF GRETZKY

With the Rangers leading 2-1, Alex Ovechkin continued The Gr8 Chase by scoring the tying goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation to set the stage for Tom Wilson’s overtime winner as the Capitals (40-14-8, 88 points) moved into a tie in terms of standing points with the League-leading Jets (42-16-4, 88 points). Ovechkin’s goal marked the 885th of his career, moving him within 10 of capturing the NHL’s goals record from Wayne Gretzky (894).

  • Ovechkin recorded his 32nd career game-tying goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation and tied Gretzky for the most in NHL history. It also marked his 86th point in that scenario, moving him past “The Great One” for the most.
  • Ovechkin has scored 156 of his 885 career goals in March and is just one back from tying Gretzky (157 in December) for the most in any calendar month.
  • The Capitals captain is now on pace to break the all-time NHL goals record April 6 on the road against the Islanders at this season’s goals-per-game rate of 0.70. At his career goals-per-game rate of 0.60, he would break the record April 12 in Columbus.

EICHEL, STÜTZLE, NORRIS HIT 20-GOAL MARK IN WINS FOR GOLDEN KNIGHTS, SENATORS
The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights and Senators both skated to victories Wednesday with the help of 20-goal scorers:

  • Jack Eichel (1-1—2) scored one of three tallies during a three-goal first period to help the Golden Knights (37-18-6, 80 points) defeat the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs (38-21-3, 79 points) and extend the League’s longest active home point streak to nine games (6-0-3). Eichel became the fifth player in franchise history to record three or more 20-goal campaigns and just the third to do so in consecutive fashion, following Jonathan Marchessault (2x: 2021-22 to 2023-24 & 2017-18 to 2019-20) and Max Pacioretty (2018-19 to 2020-21)
  • Tim Stützle (1-0—1) scored the overtime winner to extend his point streak to 13 games and Jake Sanderson (0-2—2) factored on two of his team’s four goals to help the Senators (31-25-5, 67 points) move into the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Stützle’s goal stood as his 20th of the season and made him the fourth German player in NHL history to reach that mark in three or more campaigns behind Leon Draisaitl (9), Marco Sturm (7) and Walt Tkaczuk (6). His teammate Josh Norris (1-1—2) also hit the plateau Wednesday.

CANUCKS, BLUES EARN CRUCIAL POINTS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured notes on the Canucks (28-22-11, 67 points) and Blues (30-27-6, 66 points), who each earned crucial wins to move closer to the playoff line in a congested Western Conference Wild Card race. Vancouver moved into a tie in terms of points with Calgary (29-23-9, 67 points), which occupies the second Wild Card spot, while St. Louis moved within one point of both clubs.

NHL NETWORK TO AIR SEVEN STRAIGHT HOURS OF TRADE DEADLINE COVERAGE FRIDAY
NHL Network announced it will air seven straight hours of live NHL Trade Deadline coverage tomorrow, with a simulcast of Sportsnet’s Hockey Central (10 a.m. ET) getting things started followed by a three-hour special edition of NHL Tonight (2 p.m. ET) before NHL Now (5 p.m. ET) and a return to NHL Tonight (7 p.m. ET).

  • Wednesday featured the League’s seventh and eighth trades since March 1, with the Panthers acquiring goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Sharks for forward Patrick Giles as well as the Lightning landing Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand in a three-team deal involving the Kraken and the Detroit Red Wings. The 2024-25 NHL Trade Tracker displays an official list of completed deals since the offseason, the 2024-25 NHL Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET tomorrow.

THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTED BY ESPN TWO-pack, RETURN OF NHL COAST TO COAST

Thursday’s nine-game slate is headlined by an ESPN doubleheader featuring Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres (24-30-6, 54 points) visiting Victor Hedman and the Lightning (36-21-4, 76 points) at Amalie Arena followed by Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche (36-24-2, 74 points) hosting Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks (17-37-9, 43 points) at Ball Arena. NHL Coast to Coast, the weekly studio show featuring live look-ins, highlights and expert analysis of every contest, also returns on Prime Video Canada starting at 7 p.m. ET.

  • Dahlin, who is set to celebrate his 25th birthday on April 13, needs one point to reach 50 for the fourth time in his career – he would pass John Van Boxmeer (3) for the second most 50-point seasons among defensemen in franchise history behind Phil Housley (8). Hedman can help Tampa Bay strengthen its grip on third place in the Atlantic Division and improve to 11-1-1 in its last 13 games as well as 6-1-0 in seven contests since the Lightning and Sabres captain teamed up with Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
  • MacKinnon, who needs seven points to reach 100 on the season and eight to hit 1,000 in his career, carries a 17-game home scoring streak into Thursday, which marks the League’s lenghtiest active run – the second longest belongs to Nikita Kucherov, who can extend his to 16 contests during the opener. Colorado looks to maintain its comfortable hold on the Western Conference’s first Wild Card spot, while Celebrini needs one goal to join MacKinnon on the short list of 18-year-olds to score 20 over the last 35 years (since 1989-90).
  • More highlights include Wyatt Johnston and the Stars (40-19-2, 82 points) squaring off with Nazem Kadri and the Flames (29-23-9, 67 points) on Sportsnet ONE; David Pastrnak and the Bruins (28-27-8, 64 points) pitted against Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes (36-22-4, 76 points) on TVA Sports; as well as the Blue Jackets (30-23-8, 68 points), Red Wings (30-25-6, 66 points), Canadiens (30-26-5, 65 points), Utah Hockey Club (27-25-9, 63 points) and Flyers (27-27-8, 62 points) also looking to gain ground in tightly-contested Wild Card races.

RED WINGS SIGN AUSTIN WATSON TO ONE-YEAR, TWO-WAY CONTRACT EXTENSION

The Detroit Red Wings have signed former Windsor Spitfire, forward Austin Watson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Watson, 33, has skated in two games with the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season, logging two penalty minutes, one shot and six hits in 7:00 average time on ice. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward has also played in 52 games with the Griffins this season and ranks among the team leaders with 12 goals (T3rd), 20 assists (4th), 32 points (3rd), a plus-seven rating (3rd), 94 penalty minutes (1st), five power play goals (2nd), nine power play points (3rd), two shorthanded goals (T1st), one game-winning goal (T5th) and 122 shots (2nd). He represented the Griffins at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in Palm Desert, Calif., along with goaltender Sebastian Cossa. Watson spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with the Tampa Bay Lightning, recording four points (2-2-4), a plus-two rating and 93 penalty minutes in 33 games. Originally selected by the Nashville Predators in the first round (18th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Watson has compiled 118 points (60-58-118) and 707 penalty minutes in 517 games with the Predators, Ottawa Senators, Lightning and Red Wings since 2012-13. He has also registered 19 points (10-9-19) and 48 penalty minutes in 45 postseason contests, helping the Predators reach the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Additionally, Watson has played in parts of seven AHL seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals and Griffins, racking up 164 points (85-79-164), a plus-17 rating and 183 penalty minutes in 286 games.

In other Red Wings news, the team has recalled forward Carter Mazur from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Mazur, 22, has recorded 15 points (8-7-15) and eight penalty minutes in 20 games with the Griffins during the 2024-25 season.

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Guest Writer