Alexander Ovechkin is back, and the chase for history has resumed.
Ovechkin returned to the Washington lineup on Friday, needing 27 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time crown. He wasted little time in getting the first of those that night, and then added enough on Sunday in Detroit, bringing him to 870 on his career heading into last night’s matchup with Boston.
A broken leg ended up costing Ovechkin just 16 games, which is on the low end of what we were told to expect. It’s still a decent chunk of time, and mean that catching Gretzky this season is far from a sure thing.