By Scott Powers, Arthur Staple and Josh Yohe
Petr Mrázek and Arvid Söderblom had been following Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record this season like everyone else in the hockey world.
Then they looked recently at the teams Ovechkin was most likely to break the record against, and their interest shifted.
Mrázek and Söderblom, who were with the Chicago Blackhawks at the time, looked at the projections to see how close Ovechkin might be when he and the Washington Capitals host the Blackhawks on April 4, and what they found brought them to laughter.
“He was, back then at least, on pace breaking it against us,” Söderblom said. “I don’t know exactly where he’s at right now, how many games they have, but, yeah, I heard that was a possibility. Me and Petr were joking about it back then.”
That possibility has decreased. According to The Athletic’s projections, Ovechkin has a 5 percent chance of breaking the record against the Blackhawks. Of course, that could change quickly. All Ovechkin needs is a few games of production to start increasing those odds again.
Söderblom has so far gone unscathed by Ovechkin in his two career games against the Capitals. It’s something Söderblom has taken pride in, and if Ovechkin is on the cusp of history, Söderblom would welcome another opportunity to keep Ovechkin from scoring.
“If he’s within reach when we play them, that would be just a fun challenge,” Söderblom said. “It’s great what he’s doing, how well he’s playing for them. It’s fun to watch.”
Arvid Söderblom will take all the help he can get when it comes to not giving up a highlight goal. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Still, he’d have to find a way to block out the noise for that matchup.
“You can’t be thinking about that going into the game because then he’ll probably score right away,” Söderblom added. “You’ve got to treat it as a normal game, a regular game. If it happens, it happens. Then you’ll probably see yourself letting in that goal forever.”
The highlight will undoubtedly be seen plenty, but whether people remember who the goalie was for a moment is less certain. New York Islanders coach and Hall of Fame NHL goalie Patrick Roy couldn’t recall who was in net when Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s record. (It was the Vancouver Canucks’ Kirk McLean.)
Still, Roy knows a goalie doesn’t want that moment attached to them.
“You probably don’t want to be the guy (everyone sees on the highlight) over and over and over again, but that’s the way it is,” Roy said. “With the quality of goaltenders now, no one ever really thought that record could have been touched. A lot of the things Wayne did we thought nobody would touch.”
Roy’s Islanders could be the team Ovechkin does it against. The Islanders face the Capitals twice in April. Their April 8 meeting has an 8 percent chance to be the game, and it jumps to 31 percent when the two teams meet on April 15.
Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin isn’t keeping tabs on any of that.
“I have my own problems,” said Sorokin, who has never allowed a goal against Ovechkin. “I just focus on what I can control. I don’t think about that.
“He is a legend, but I just care about myself.”
The only game Ovechkin has greater odds to do it in than that April 15 one is against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 17 in the Capitals’ final regular-season game.
Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is also well aware of what could happen that night.
“I honestly just hope he has broken the record before that night so it doesn’t need to be on my mind,” Nedeljkovic said.
And if he hasn’t?
“I don’t mind if I’m the answer to the trivia question of which goalie he broke the record against so long as we win the game,” said Nedeljkovic, who has given up two Ovechkin goals. “But I wouldn’t enjoy it in the moment.”
There is no telling how much attention Ovechkin will receive if this chase comes down to the final game against Pittsburgh. Like Söderblom, Nedeljkovic knows he can’t get caught up in it.
“The thing is, it will probably work against you if you focus too much on him,” Nedeljkovic said. “Ovechkin is so naturally talented. If you get out of your routine and just focus on him, he will find a way to take advantage.
“Honestly, I just hope he’s already done it before that night.”
Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight will do everything he can to stop Ovechkin if he’s the one in net against the Capitals. But as someone who has allowed two career Ovechkin goals, Knight knows that’s easier said than done.
“He’s just impressive from anywhere,” Knight said. “His shot is self-explanatory. His one-timer is self-explanatory. He just has a knack for finding the net. He just has that factor. I don’t even know how to describe it. He just knows how to score from different areas. Obviously, his patented one-timer is just so impressive. It’s pretty cool.”
Because of all that, Knight wouldn’t be ashamed if Ovechkin broke the record against him.
“If he gets it in the game against you, hats off to him,” Knight said. “You can’t be mad about it. You’ve just got to play the game. Hey, hockey’s best goal scorer ever — you tip your hat off to him. It’s an awesome accomplishment — really cool time to be a part of the game.”
(Photo: Dennis Schneidler / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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