Ovechkin Says Farewell To Phil Esposito (3/16/2021) @EveryOvechkinGoal

Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

March 16, 2021 - Among the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, few were as lethal as Phil Esposito. In the 1970-71 season he set a new NHL record by scoring 76 goals, an incredible 18 more than the previous record. To this day he still holds the single-season record for shots on goal in season with 550 that same year, a record that even Ovechkin (528 in 2008-09) couldn't quite break. 40 years after he retired, he still had more goals than all but five players in NHL history. That is, until the Great 8 came along. With the milestone in sight, Ovechkin got hot as he so often has, coming into the game with goals in three straight to tie Esposito. Before he could get in the goals column, Ovechkin picked up an assist for the 1,300th point of his career. But that wasn't the milestone anyone cared about. Luckily, fans wouldn't have to wait long on that one either, as on a power play later in the same period, Ovechkin blasted home one of his patented one-timers from the Ovi Office to move past yet another NHL legend as Joe Beninati delivered one of his most memorable calls of the Gr8 Chase. Even though he was still 177 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky, with every hockey icon he passed, the number to beat felt that much more in reach.

- 1st Period -
0:00 - Intro
0:11 - Hit on Mayfield
0:26 - Big hit on Pelech

- 2nd Period -
0:50 - Dangle around Pageau and shot
1:25 - Assist, 1,300th career point
2:41 - Goal, 718th career goal, moves past Phil Esposito for 6th most all-time
4:14 - Intercepts pass out of mid-air

- 3rd Period -
4:20 - Shot attempt and empty net while falling
4:48 - Final buzzer

More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq

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$Ovechkins Revenge Hat Trick In Utah (3/26/2026) March 26, 2026 - When the Arizona Coyotes became the Utah Hockey Club in 2024, it meant there was a new arena in the NHL, and that meant a new building for Alex Ovechkin to score in. The Great 8s first visit to Salt Lake City was memorable, for good and bad reasons. The good was the two goals he scored as part of his incredible start to the 2024-25 season, when the then-39-year-old was leading the entire NHL in goals a month in. The bad was that it was also the game that saw Ovechkin suffer the worst injury of his NHL career - a fractured fibula after an accidental collision with Utahs Jack McBain that sidelined him for 16 games. While Ovechkin was able to recover and finish third in the league with 44 goals, its hard to not wonder what totals Ovi could have put up if not for the broken leg (he was on pace for 68 goals and 113 points). Ovechkins next visit to the Delta Center came at a crucial time with the Caps fighting to stay alive in the playoff race. Facing a 3-1 deficit in a must-win game, the greatest goal scorer in NHL history delivered again, scoring twice to tie the game heading into the third period. Energized by their captains heroics, the Caps took control in the final frame, scoring three goals, capped off by an empty-netter from Ovechkin to complete his 34th career hat trick. Unsurprisingly, the hat trick was also historic: - 34th hat trick (broke tie with Brett Hull for 4th all-time) - 21st franchise with a hat trick against, most all-time - 6th oldest player to score a hat trick (40y, 190d) - First goal on former teammate Vitek Vanecek, extending his record of goalies scored against to 189. Vanecek was also the active goalie with the most saves against Ovi without allowing a goal (19), behind only another former teammate, Michal Neuvirth (25 saves) all-time. Another historic Ovechkin moment occurred in this game - a defensive zone start, two of them in fact. For the first 72 games of the season, Ovechkin did not record a single defensive zone start. The streak gained notoriety among hockey fans online, and many wondered if he would end the year without one. With 15:41 left in the second period, head coach Spencer Carbery ended the streak, and soon realized his strategy may not have been that good after all as Ovechkin scored his first of the night 42 seconds later. Carbery then gave the Great 8 an unprecedented *second* defensive start with 2:56 left in the game. Carbery would later say he ended the streak because it became a story. Game stats: 3 goals, 3 points, 5 shots, 11 shot attempts, 1 hit - 1st Period - 0:00 - Intro 0:13 - Collision with Lawson Crouse 0:28 - Defensive positioning to disrupt play 0:38 - Utah crowd salutes Ovechkin for 1,000 combined regular season and playoff goals - 2nd Period - 1:09 - Ovechkins first defensive zone start of the season, 42 seconds later in the shift... 1:42 - Goal 1 3:20 - Joe B takes Ovis lip reading personally (and Ovi has 300 second period goals) 3:36 - Goal 2 4:43 - Pass to Strome for chance 5:00 - Hit on Dylan Guenther 5:07 - Another defensive read to break up play 5:12 - Intermission interview with Al Koken 5:47 - Ovechkins plan for the third period - 3rd Period - 5:58 - Shot-pass to Anthony Beauvillier almost goes in, Beauvillier puts Caps up 4-3 soon after 7:13 - Shot 7:33 - Sir, a second Ovechkin defensive zone start has been recorded 7:57 - Goal 3, 34th career hat trick 9:20 - Final buzzer More classic Ovechkin games - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq$

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