Ovechkin to be honored by Capitals for passing Howe on NHL goals list

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Alex Ovechkin will be lauded for one major milestone before potentially reaching another.

The Washington Capitals will honor Ovechkin for passing Gordie Howe for second on the NHL goals list earlier this season during a ceremony prior to their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Capital One Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA+, BSOH, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The 37-year-old left wing heads into the game one goal from his
13th 40-goal season
, which would surpass Wayne Gretzky for most in NHL history.
That record is far from Ovechkin's mind, though, with the Capitals in danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014. Washington (33-31-7) trails the Pittsburgh Penguins by five points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining.
"We just have to take it game by game," Ovechkin said. "We're still hoping, so we just have to do our job."
Still, it figures to be an emotional pregame ceremony with Ovechkin's family on hand to celebrate with him, including his wife, Nastya; his sons, Sergei and Ilya; his brother, Mikhail; and his mother, Tatyana.
Following the death of his father, Mikhail, on Feb. 15, Ovechkin's mother is visiting from Russia for the first time since the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
"It's great," Ovechkin said. "She's enjoying time here, spending time with us. It's been a while."
Ovechkin's mother and father watched on television from Russia when he scored his 801st and 802nd goals against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 23 to overtake Howe, who scored 801 goals during his 26 NHL seasons before retiring in 1980. Having his mother and brother with him now has helped with the mourning process for the entire family.
"Every day is an important day for us," Ovechkin said. "We stick together and try to do anything that's possible to just kind of be together and help each other out."
Ovechkin also has leaned on his Capitals teammates. He missed four games when he went to Russia for his father's funeral before rejoining them Feb. 23.
"The support has been unbelievable," Ovechkin said. "It's been tough days, but the team is helping out big time."

That support particularly was important during the Capitals' fathers and mentors trip for games against the New York Islanders on March 11 and New York Rangers on March 14. Ovechkin's father regularly attended those trips before illness prevented him from traveling from Russia in recent years.
"Everyone was trying to be there for him as much as you could," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. "There's only so much you can do or say, but you just try to let him know that we're there for him. Other than family, hockey is a love and a passion of his and being around the team and being around the game is good. That being said, there's stuff that goes on beyond hockey. Unfortunately, when that comes to the forefront, it's hard to get over it. As a team, you just try to be there for him when you can."
This has been a challenging season in general for the Capitals, who have dealt with a host of long-term injuries to key players, including Wilson (ACL surgery) and center Nicklas Backstrom (hip resurfacing surgery), each of whom missed the first 42 games, and defenseman John Carlson (skull fracture) being sidelined since Dec. 23. Outside the playoff picture looking in, Washington was a seller before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3, trading forwards Garnet Hathaway (Boston Bruins), Marcus Johansson (Minnesota Wild) and Lars Eller (Colorado Avalanche), and defensemen Dmitry Orlov (Boston Bruins) and Erik Gustafsson (Toronto Maple Leafs).
Saying goodbye to Orlov, a fellow Russian and Capitals teammate for 11 seasons, on Feb. 23, the day after Ovechkin returned from his father's funeral, was difficult.
"He's a very good friend of mine, a great player," Ovechkin said. "All the guys who are leaving, it's very hard."
General manager Brian MacLellan met with Ovechkin prior to the deadline to explain the direction he was taking. But seeing the Capitals sell at the deadline was something Ovechkin hadn't experienced since 2006-07, which was his second NHL season.
"It's not my job to make the decisions," Ovechkin said. "So he explained to me why and I got it. … He told me what's happening here, what's happening upstairs. It's just between me and him."
Through it all, Ovechkin has continued to contribute despite playing through a lower-body injury that caused him to miss a 5-3 loss to the Rangers on March 14. He has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 11 games since returning from his father's funeral.
He has points in four straight games (three goals, four assists), including two goals and an assist in a 5-3 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
"He just keeps scoring," Wilson said. "That's the common theme. He just keeps scoring goals. That's huge for our team. When you have a guy like him, that gives you a chance to win to win every night. He's done a great job, an amazing job considering what he's gone through in the last month."
Ovechkin has scored 17 goals since passing Howe to increase his career total to 819 in 18 NHL seasons and climb within 75 of Gretzky's League record of 894. Having met Howe at the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Ovechkin appreciated the significance of passing him on the goals list.
Howe died in 2016 when he was 88, so he will be represented at the ceremony Tuesday by his son, Mark Howe, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman.
"It's a pretty special moment, and just to be able to reach that 800, it's something special," Ovechkin said. "So it's a been a huge honor to make that milestone and you move forward."