While the New York Islanders snapped their six-game losing streak last night, something historical took center stage.
Alexander Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record with his 894th goal, which was Ovi’s second of the game. In Washington, D.C., the party was on. The entire bench cleared to celebrate the tying goal, the arena saluted him, and the entire Chicago Blackhawks bench gave him a standing ovation.
Elsewhere in the building, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hung out in a suite with Ovechkin’s family and The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.
245 miles north, the Islanders found a way to win again. Now, they’ll have the entire hockey world’s entire focus on Sunday afternoon. Not only is it history on the line, but the game is a national broadcast with TNT carrying the game. What’s more, it’s the only game on the schedule before 3 o’clock.
That’s right, with the entire world watching, it’s the only game on the schedule. Daunting as it may be, the Islanders refuse to lose sight of themselves in all of it.
‘Focus on Ourselves’, Not Ovechkin and History:
Throughout the room last night, word slowly trickled about Alexander Ovechkin’s pair of goals, tying him with Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history.
Maxim Tsyplakov couldn’t hide his smile when I asked about it. Smiling, he said, “No comment. I don’t think about it. He’s the best. I don’t have words about him.”
Head Coach Patrick Roy played coy, saying “We’re going to focus on us. I mean, I know it’s going to be hard, but I mean, that’s what we have to do. I mean, it’s an important game for our team. And we’re going to continue to do exactly what we’ve been doing, focusing on the next game, and stay in the present moment and focus on us.”
