Mark Howe, the son of "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe, recorded a special message for Alex Ovechkin for his 802nd NHL goal, which the Washington Capitals captain scored on Friday.
With the milestone goal, Ovechkin moves ahead of Howe and into second place on the career goals list. Mark Howe congratulated Ovechkin for eclipsing his father's mark and lauded the veteran for his style of play. "I've had the opportunity to watch you play so many games as a scout and you've been a pleasure to watch. You're one of very few people in this game to me that they bring a wow factor," Mark said in the roughly one minute long video. "You embrace the fans. You're everything that my mother and father would be very proud of and I know if they were here today, they would be at this hockey game. They'd be the first ones to congratulate you."
It truly was a family affair as after the game Friday, Ovechkin posed for a picture with his two sons, Sergei and Ilya. Each of them holding one of the milestone pucks.
After his kind words, Mark Howe said what every hockey fan is now thinking: Can Ovechkin get all the way to the top and catch The Great One, Wayne Gretzky at 894 career goals? "So, on behalf of the Howe family, we want to say congratulations and a job well done and now it's time to set new goals for No. 99," Howe said.
