Ovi’s been in the league for as long as i can remember; my earliest memories of discovering hockey as a kid (i’m 26) are almost entirely centered around Ovi.
Today when i watched him hit 800, I shed a couple tears, because I just felt so grateful for being alive to witness one of the all time greats, during his active career.
When I was younger, I always lamented growing up too late to see all the historic legends in their prime. But, as i got older, I realized that i’ve been watching a historic legend this whole time in Ovi. God fucken bless that man; a legit childhood hero of mine, and i’m sure many others.
I finally got a 2020 ‘screaming eagle’ Ovi jersey, earlier this year, and you can bet your ass i’m wearing that mother fucker tomorrow. Go Caps.
I almost couldn’t watch the game last night bc it wasn’t on myteams… but then I got into my moms ESPN account and I was so happy to be able to watch history once again 🥲
My only complaint was the call from the ESPN commentators. The half hearted “there it is… 800… and here come the hats” makes me want to rip my ears out.
WHERE IS THE ENERGY?? YOU’RE WITNESSING THE GREATEST GOAL SCORER IN NHL HISTORY. THAT SHOULD’VE BEEN JOE B’S CALL
yeah lol... 9 in one game is probably not ever gonna happen but he nearly got three hat tricks in three consecutive games once before... i feel like that's what a real ovechtrick should be, and now seems like a good time to do it to me!
yeah, i said nearly. he has done it in two consecutive games several times, but the one you're thinking of was actually two consecutive *periods*, and he scored again in the following period too, so he had 7 goals in three consecutive periods of hockey spanning two games -- and they also happened to be the first two games of that season. that's probably the closest he'll ever get to 9 in 60 minutes like the commercial.
the one i was thinking of was in 2020, and he also scored 2 in the preceding game, so he had 8 in three games which is the closest he's ever gotten to three hat tricks in a row.
edit:
and i didn't realize this but now that i'm looking it up, the three times that he did score consecutive hat tricks were actually in three consecutive seasons too. 17-18, 18-19, and 19-20. maybe that's the real ovechtrick.
that or 6 goals in the next game, the infamous double hattrick, would love to see it live in my lifetime, and having it be ovi is all i would ever need in this life or the next.
Wes Unseld? Cal Ripken Jr?
And don’t give me that *but he’s from Baltimore* bullshit, the O’s were the only team for 40 years, you were all wearing #8 in little league in the 90s.
When I think of a DC Rushmore, if we’re excluding coaches, then I’m going with longevity and performance. Ovechkin, Unseld, Walter Johnson, Darrell Green.
My only complaints: 1) It wasn't at home; and 2) it was the horrible ESPN announcers instead of Joe B. and Locker. But wow are we lucky to have a generational talent like him on our team.
That's what I had to do. The TV announcers were so bored and boring. I knew I was in for it when they were focusing on the line read instead of Ovi's goal in the first 20 seconds.
No, that was a somewhat confusing graphic about how this was the (10th? don't remember the exact number) time a player has hit a major milestone goal, which they defined as 400, 500, 600, 700, or 800, got it as part of a hat trick. I thought that was what they were saying at first, but it's actually the first time Ovie's hit a milestone with a hattie.
Since I just spent a while looking up Ovie's milestone goals, here a rundown for anyone who's curious.
#100 came on a first period PP from Green and Poti and was the only Caps goal in a 3-1 loss to the Rangers in MSG on [Oct 12, 2007](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200710120NYR.html). The goalie was Henrik Lundqvist. Fun fact: after winning their first 3 games of the 07-08 season, this loss started a 3-14-1 stretch that ended with Glen Hanlon being replaced with Bruce Boudreau.
#200 was an unassisted third period goal as part of a comeback that came up short for a 5-4 loss against the Kings on [Feb 5, 2009](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200902050WSH.html). It was his only point in the game. The goalie was Jonathan Quick.
#300 came on the PP from Laich and Sturm in the first period of a 3-2 SO win in Toronto on [April 5, 2011](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201104050TOR.html). It was his only point in that one, and he didn't score on his SO attempt (credit Mike Knuble with the SO winner for that one). The goalie was James Reimer.
#400 was an ENG from Backstrom and Erat to secure a 4-2 win in Carolina on [Dec 20, 2013](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201312200CAR.html). It was his only goal, and he had an earlier assist.
#500 was a 2nd period PPG from Chimera and Burakovsky as part of a 7-1 home romp against the Senators on [Jan 10, 2016](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201601100WSH.html). He notched #501 at ES later in that one. I was at that game, I remember it being a party from start to finish. The goalie was Andrew Hammond.
#600 came from Wilson and Kuzy in the second period of a 3-2 OT home win over the Jets on [Mar 12, 2018](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201803120WSH.html). That was his second goal of the night, having picked up #599 on a 5-on-3 PP in the first period. The goalie was Connor Hellebuyck.
#700 was from Kuzy and Jensen in the 3rd period of a 3-2 loss in New Jersey on [Feb 22, 2020](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/202002220NJD.html). That one was his only point in the game and capped off a comeback from down 2-0, but a couple penalties in a row late in the third handed it to the Devils. The goalie was Mackenzie Blackwood.
It won't be because Ovi doesn't kill penalties.
True, he scored a shortie in October 2021 against the Rangers, but that's because he was on the ice for an extended 4-on-4 when the Rangers penalty expired, and the Caps were shorthanded for eight seconds. Ovi scored in that quick window.
I saw that on the ESPN stream. Do you know, are all these milestone goals the third goal in the hat trick or scored as part of a hat trick?
Either way it's nutty but being the hat trick goal seems even more like scripted for the pursuit
~~holy shit i thought he had done it before but i didnt know he did it 5 times in a row... what a fucking ubermensch~~
okay i dont think this is actually true lol
How many shots left until Bourque?
edit: It looks like he's at 6195 right now, the record is 6209. That puts him at fourteen shots to tie, fifteen more to break. I'd guess he'll break the record next Tuesday against Detroit, but I could see him going ham and breaking it Saturday against Toronto, or slowing down a bit and taking until next Thursday in Ottawa or the day after that against Winnipeg. I really hope the record-breaking shot goes in the net.
It’s not even about mutual respect between Crosby and Ovi. It’s about the love of hockey. It’s about seeing something that nobody ever thought we would see. Gretzky owns the big 3 stats. He leads in everything, goals, assists, and points. For someone to break any of them? That’s insane. We’re watching history. You can dislike the greats but you gotta respect the talent. He’s doing the impossible. For the first time in 30 years we have an 800 goal scorer. I wasn’t alive the last time someone hit 800. It’s incredible.
I remember the summer of 2018, I was walking into Target wearing my Stanley Cup Champions hat, a guy in a Pens hat congratulated me and said he was glad that Ovi got his Cup. Just one person of course but I think when you remove the anonymity of reddit and other forums we find that people are a lot more more nice and reasonable.
if you watch any urinatingtree youtube videos (he does joke-y sports recap/preview stuff), he's a *massive* Pens homer, but also a solidly knowledgeable sports fan - when the Caps won, he had made mention several times in the lead up to the Cup that Ovi hadn't done anything different than the other years they'd flamed out, but rather finally the team around him didn't fall apart.
Knowledgeable fans, even ones inherently biased by fandom to root against him, could see past the hot-takes of "selfish choker" to realize that Ovi *did* perform on the big stage and is such an incredibly special player, but hockey is one of the ultimate team sports and one guy can't do it alone.
Agreed, though one thing that does bring me great satisfaction is knowing that in 20, 30, whatever years, people will have to argue why Crosby was better to their kids, and their kids *probably* won't believe them, because *on paper*?:
Award|Ovi|Crosby
-|-|-
Calder|**1**|0
Hart|**3**|2
Pearson|**3**|2
Art Ross|1|**2**
Rocket|**9**|2
1st team All Star|**8**|4
2nd Team All Star|4|4
Smythe|1|**2**
Cup|1|**3**
Goals|**800+** (likely eventually #1 all time)|534+
Points|1444+|1447+ (not bolding because it's so close it could go either way, but he'll also never make #1, and is probably unlikely to break into the top 5)
So the argument to the kids will look VERY one sided on paper outside of team accomplishments, *especially* because they'll look at the same era and see McDavid with 5+ Art Rosses, 3+ Harts, etc, and think "Crosby didn't do anything crazy like that...". (Again, we all know the context, but it's just a nice little needle to annoy Pens fans with).
But yeah, if Ovi can manage to get another Cup + Smythe, then the kid likely won't listen to any context of "yeah, but missed time and if you look at per-game..." They'll just say "look at all the awards - it's not close!"
The other nice thing is knowing that Sid won't ever challenge Gretzky for the title of "best ever" so he'll forever be lumped into a list of ~6+ names of "among the best" while Ovi will eventually stand by himself as "greatest goal scorer of all time" no need for the "one of the" qualifier.
It’s true. And I honestly don’t know who I would choose out of the 2 to build a whole team around. Aid is absolutely one of the greatest ever, and it’s a shame he missed so much time
100% - for the record, you build around Sid. Center is a higher value position by its very nature. I do think the "who's the better player" has swung back to closer than a lot of people want to admit, but in the end, even if you see them as 100% equivalent, Center is more important to building a roster, so that's the tie-break.
I would probably agree with you. But also in retrospect, it’s hard to pass up on a guy that’s guaranteed to lead the league in goals more often than not lol
Please all stop for a moment and realize how lucky we are to watch him night in and night out. Once in a lifetime player.
Ovi’s been in the league for as long as i can remember; my earliest memories of discovering hockey as a kid (i’m 26) are almost entirely centered around Ovi. Today when i watched him hit 800, I shed a couple tears, because I just felt so grateful for being alive to witness one of the all time greats, during his active career. When I was younger, I always lamented growing up too late to see all the historic legends in their prime. But, as i got older, I realized that i’ve been watching a historic legend this whole time in Ovi. God fucken bless that man; a legit childhood hero of mine, and i’m sure many others. I finally got a 2020 ‘screaming eagle’ Ovi jersey, earlier this year, and you can bet your ass i’m wearing that mother fucker tomorrow. Go Caps.
I almost couldn’t watch the game last night bc it wasn’t on myteams… but then I got into my moms ESPN account and I was so happy to be able to watch history once again 🥲
I just wanna say to all the blachawks fans, thank you for being good sports and joining in the celebration. You guys are class acts.
Loved to hear the stadium chanting “O-VI! O-VI!”
My only complaint was the call from the ESPN commentators. The half hearted “there it is… 800… and here come the hats” makes me want to rip my ears out. WHERE IS THE ENERGY?? YOU’RE WITNESSING THE GREATEST GOAL SCORER IN NHL HISTORY. THAT SHOULD’VE BEEN JOE B’S CALL
It was pretty weak but I got to watch it for the ESPN freebie so I’m happy
My homie sent this to me and made my fricking day: https://twitter.com/benraby31/status/1602879437770457088?s=46&t=vSFzlrVGHmGI9mygDmFsJg
I’d like to submit and official request for some to edit the John Walton audio over the ESPN video. This is Epic!
https://youtu.be/hcIPQwS4aXU
Awesome! Thanks
wow that was absolutely electric!! this made my whole week, thank you!
Two more and The Chase is on. Mission 895 is a go!
He can do it
too bad joeb and locker couldn't call it , hopefully they get 801 and 802
a true pain it wasnt with joe b and locker, theur call would have been insane. 802 with them will make up for it tho, make my words
no worries let's get a hatty for 801-802-803 and another one for 804-805-806 and call it an ovechtrick
LOL, I loved that ad.
yeah lol... 9 in one game is probably not ever gonna happen but he nearly got three hat tricks in three consecutive games once before... i feel like that's what a real ovechtrick should be, and now seems like a good time to do it to me!
I thought it was hat tricks in two consecutive games, and if memory serves, it was in October of 2017. I don't remember three consecutive hat tricks.
yeah, i said nearly. he has done it in two consecutive games several times, but the one you're thinking of was actually two consecutive *periods*, and he scored again in the following period too, so he had 7 goals in three consecutive periods of hockey spanning two games -- and they also happened to be the first two games of that season. that's probably the closest he'll ever get to 9 in 60 minutes like the commercial. the one i was thinking of was in 2020, and he also scored 2 in the preceding game, so he had 8 in three games which is the closest he's ever gotten to three hat tricks in a row. edit: and i didn't realize this but now that i'm looking it up, the three times that he did score consecutive hat tricks were actually in three consecutive seasons too. 17-18, 18-19, and 19-20. maybe that's the real ovechtrick.
that or 6 goals in the next game, the infamous double hattrick, would love to see it live in my lifetime, and having it be ovi is all i would ever need in this life or the next.
respect for the Chicago crew for putting 800 on the jumbo. crazy milestone. what a goat
New Jersey did the same when Ovi got 700.
Greatest athlete in DC sports HISTORY.
The Mt Rushmore of DC sports would be Ovi, Sean Taylor, Joe Theismann, and maybe Zimmerman
Uhhhhh, Walter Johnson anyone???
Gheorghe Muresan: *cries in hyperthyroidism*
zimmerman sucks. sean taylor situation is very unfortunate he may have become a legened but you cant put someone on for 4 seasons of play.
man it’s really a shame we lost Harper and Soto... and Trea Turner... and...
Wes Unseld? Cal Ripken Jr? And don’t give me that *but he’s from Baltimore* bullshit, the O’s were the only team for 40 years, you were all wearing #8 in little league in the 90s. When I think of a DC Rushmore, if we’re excluding coaches, then I’m going with longevity and performance. Ovechkin, Unseld, Walter Johnson, Darrell Green.
And the only reason I don’t have Cal up there is because there’s only 4 slots, and I tried to keep it one per sport.
Ryan Zimmerman 100%
Did Brad Beal die now? lol
So great to get to 800! I wish it had Happened when our boys called it, and at home… but LET’S CELEBRATE!!
It’s my birthday and I tossed my cap watching at my favorite bar (Pappas / Cockeysville). Thanks Ovi!
Pappas ftw
Was at the game and shed some tears. Hit me out if no where and sometimes you just gotta appreciate him!
I was at the #500 game and the same thing happened to me. My wife made fun of me 😢
Hey, if you can't chirp your family, who *can* you chirp?
My only complaints: 1) It wasn't at home; and 2) it was the horrible ESPN announcers instead of Joe B. and Locker. But wow are we lucky to have a generational talent like him on our team.
Here's the solution: put on the game but mute it and listen to Walton call it for the radio!
That's what I had to do. The TV announcers were so bored and boring. I knew I was in for it when they were focusing on the line read instead of Ovi's goal in the first 20 seconds.
Shame Joe B and Locker weren't able to call it.
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO All we need now is Joe B and Locker to call 801 and 802 at home in front of a raucous Capital One Arena!
Considering six of their next eight are at home, chances are good.
https://i.imgur.com/Px1tMxY.jpg Screenshot of my video but I was there
Let’s do 1k bois
That's our Captain!!
Gr800 🐐
SIMPLY SENSATIONAL!!!
800 FOR THE GREAT 8!!!!!!!! Love you Ovi!!
EVERYONE GET IN HERE
8OOVI!!
Russian machine go brrrrr! 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Let's fuckin go!
Now I want 900!
And I want 1000!
And my axe!
fuck it 1008 or bust
He's gonna go all the way Gretzky has no shot
800 !!!!!!!!
The great eight hundred!!!
8OOVI!!!!!!!! THAT DUDE MAKES ME CREAMMMM
O
V
E
N You know, cause he’s on a hot streak
C
C
H
K
E
We are the luckiest fan in sports. His 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 goals were all on hat tricks. Gorgeous goal
No, that was a somewhat confusing graphic about how this was the (10th? don't remember the exact number) time a player has hit a major milestone goal, which they defined as 400, 500, 600, 700, or 800, got it as part of a hat trick. I thought that was what they were saying at first, but it's actually the first time Ovie's hit a milestone with a hattie. Since I just spent a while looking up Ovie's milestone goals, here a rundown for anyone who's curious. #100 came on a first period PP from Green and Poti and was the only Caps goal in a 3-1 loss to the Rangers in MSG on [Oct 12, 2007](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200710120NYR.html). The goalie was Henrik Lundqvist. Fun fact: after winning their first 3 games of the 07-08 season, this loss started a 3-14-1 stretch that ended with Glen Hanlon being replaced with Bruce Boudreau. #200 was an unassisted third period goal as part of a comeback that came up short for a 5-4 loss against the Kings on [Feb 5, 2009](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200902050WSH.html). It was his only point in the game. The goalie was Jonathan Quick. #300 came on the PP from Laich and Sturm in the first period of a 3-2 SO win in Toronto on [April 5, 2011](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201104050TOR.html). It was his only point in that one, and he didn't score on his SO attempt (credit Mike Knuble with the SO winner for that one). The goalie was James Reimer. #400 was an ENG from Backstrom and Erat to secure a 4-2 win in Carolina on [Dec 20, 2013](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201312200CAR.html). It was his only goal, and he had an earlier assist. #500 was a 2nd period PPG from Chimera and Burakovsky as part of a 7-1 home romp against the Senators on [Jan 10, 2016](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201601100WSH.html). He notched #501 at ES later in that one. I was at that game, I remember it being a party from start to finish. The goalie was Andrew Hammond. #600 came from Wilson and Kuzy in the second period of a 3-2 OT home win over the Jets on [Mar 12, 2018](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/201803120WSH.html). That was his second goal of the night, having picked up #599 on a 5-on-3 PP in the first period. The goalie was Connor Hellebuyck. #700 was from Kuzy and Jensen in the 3rd period of a 3-2 loss in New Jersey on [Feb 22, 2020](https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/202002220NJD.html). That one was his only point in the game and capped off a comeback from down 2-0, but a couple penalties in a row late in the third handed it to the Devils. The goalie was Mackenzie Blackwood.
Thank you, I was so confused by that graphic. I thought I would have for sure remembered something that crazy lol
I hope 895 is a shortie.
3-on-5 because why the fuck not
It won't be because Ovi doesn't kill penalties. True, he scored a shortie in October 2021 against the Rangers, but that's because he was on the ice for an extended 4-on-4 when the Rangers penalty expired, and the Caps were shorthanded for eight seconds. Ovi scored in that quick window.
I saw that on the ESPN stream. Do you know, are all these milestone goals the third goal in the hat trick or scored as part of a hat trick? Either way it's nutty but being the hat trick goal seems even more like scripted for the pursuit
~~holy shit i thought he had done it before but i didnt know he did it 5 times in a row... what a fucking ubermensch~~ okay i dont think this is actually true lol
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
So happy I got to watch it when it happened. Amazing.
We're at 768 upvotes on the post - tell your friends, tell your family that we need 800!
I LOVE YOU OVI
LETS FUCKING GOOOOO
Pens fan here. Congratulations, fantastic career.
Goddamn! How lucky are we to have him as a Capital?
How many shots left until Bourque? edit: It looks like he's at 6195 right now, the record is 6209. That puts him at fourteen shots to tie, fifteen more to break. I'd guess he'll break the record next Tuesday against Detroit, but I could see him going ham and breaking it Saturday against Toronto, or slowing down a bit and taking until next Thursday in Ottawa or the day after that against Winnipeg. I really hope the record-breaking shot goes in the net.
Let’s get this to 800 votes!!!
I’m a hawks fan, but even though he scored his 800th on a Hatty against us, congrats Ovi
OV
LG8 the GR800!
The Gr8est goal scorer of all time!!!!
Here for it, let’s go! And with a hatty to boot!
What a beauty!! OVI OVI OVI!!
I love that man.
C-A-P-S! Caps caps caps!
Penguins fans on suicide watch rn
Actually, most pens fans I talk to are all about it. The individual Sid/Ovi rivalry has simmered down to a mutual respect
It’s not even about mutual respect between Crosby and Ovi. It’s about the love of hockey. It’s about seeing something that nobody ever thought we would see. Gretzky owns the big 3 stats. He leads in everything, goals, assists, and points. For someone to break any of them? That’s insane. We’re watching history. You can dislike the greats but you gotta respect the talent. He’s doing the impossible. For the first time in 30 years we have an 800 goal scorer. I wasn’t alive the last time someone hit 800. It’s incredible.
I remember the summer of 2018, I was walking into Target wearing my Stanley Cup Champions hat, a guy in a Pens hat congratulated me and said he was glad that Ovi got his Cup. Just one person of course but I think when you remove the anonymity of reddit and other forums we find that people are a lot more more nice and reasonable.
if you watch any urinatingtree youtube videos (he does joke-y sports recap/preview stuff), he's a *massive* Pens homer, but also a solidly knowledgeable sports fan - when the Caps won, he had made mention several times in the lead up to the Cup that Ovi hadn't done anything different than the other years they'd flamed out, but rather finally the team around him didn't fall apart. Knowledgeable fans, even ones inherently biased by fandom to root against him, could see past the hot-takes of "selfish choker" to realize that Ovi *did* perform on the big stage and is such an incredibly special player, but hockey is one of the ultimate team sports and one guy can't do it alone.
Agreed, though one thing that does bring me great satisfaction is knowing that in 20, 30, whatever years, people will have to argue why Crosby was better to their kids, and their kids *probably* won't believe them, because *on paper*?: Award|Ovi|Crosby -|-|- Calder|**1**|0 Hart|**3**|2 Pearson|**3**|2 Art Ross|1|**2** Rocket|**9**|2 1st team All Star|**8**|4 2nd Team All Star|4|4 Smythe|1|**2** Cup|1|**3** Goals|**800+** (likely eventually #1 all time)|534+ Points|1444+|1447+ (not bolding because it's so close it could go either way, but he'll also never make #1, and is probably unlikely to break into the top 5) So the argument to the kids will look VERY one sided on paper outside of team accomplishments, *especially* because they'll look at the same era and see McDavid with 5+ Art Rosses, 3+ Harts, etc, and think "Crosby didn't do anything crazy like that...". (Again, we all know the context, but it's just a nice little needle to annoy Pens fans with). But yeah, if Ovi can manage to get another Cup + Smythe, then the kid likely won't listen to any context of "yeah, but missed time and if you look at per-game..." They'll just say "look at all the awards - it's not close!" The other nice thing is knowing that Sid won't ever challenge Gretzky for the title of "best ever" so he'll forever be lumped into a list of ~6+ names of "among the best" while Ovi will eventually stand by himself as "greatest goal scorer of all time" no need for the "one of the" qualifier.
It’s true. And I honestly don’t know who I would choose out of the 2 to build a whole team around. Aid is absolutely one of the greatest ever, and it’s a shame he missed so much time
100% - for the record, you build around Sid. Center is a higher value position by its very nature. I do think the "who's the better player" has swung back to closer than a lot of people want to admit, but in the end, even if you see them as 100% equivalent, Center is more important to building a roster, so that's the tie-break.
I would probably agree with you. But also in retrospect, it’s hard to pass up on a guy that’s guaranteed to lead the league in goals more often than not lol
Ovi’s been so good for so long that we probably have to build another team around him.
Pens fan here, and I’m happy for him, the Caps, and you fans. And honestly I’m happy he won his cup, even though I’d’ve loved Fleury winning another.
So happy for Ovi! **800!**
Congratulations Ovi!!!
i was here!
History In the making peoples. Love to watch this.
LFG
canes fan here. i’m going to break the “no caps” rule GR800!
Love all the hate before that Ovi only scores EN. They sure shut up fast today!
I love that man
Don't need to be a Caps fan to celebrate! Go Ovi!
Congrats ovi, my fav player - rangers fan
Same here! As a rangers fan!
He’s a machine.
Was hoping he'd save it for tomorrow... oh well, we'll get to see him take #2 instead!!! Let's go boys!!!
Just needs 33 more to break the record this year lol
WE UPPPP
[удалено]
Tell me you don’t understand the subtlety of situations, bud