Alex Ovechkin Hits 30-Goal Mark In Capitals Win Over Flyers

On Sunday, the Washington Capitals came back to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in their traditional Super Bowl Sunday matchup in Washington, D.C.

Alex Ovechkin Hits 30-Goal Mark In Capitals Win Over Flyers

During the game, Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin joined greats Wayne Gretzky and Mike Gartner as the only three players in NHL history to ever score 30 goals or more in their first 11 seasons.

“It’s not surprising, and he’s going to probably do it another time or two before he’s done,” coach Barry Trotz said regarding the achievement. “Consistency, that’s a part of greatness.”

Ovechkin deflected Karl Alzner’s point shot with his stick in front of Flyers goalkeeper Steve Mason to score his 30th in his 49th game of the season. The goal tied the score 1-1 at 15:56 in the second period after a rough start to the game for the Capitals.

“You just have to do what you have to do,” Ovechkin said. “It was not pretty goal, but it was a really important goal for us. I’ll take it.”

The Capitals currently lead the NHL with their current record, despite a 0-for-17 power-play drought. They were for 0-for-2 in terms of power plays on Sunday, although they also managed to kill all five Flyers power plays.

Washington goalie Braden Holtby also had a good night, with 33 total saves, eight of which came during the penalty kill. The Capitals also got two goals from defensemen. Dmitry Orlov scored his fifth of the season just 1:09 after Ovechkin’s, and Matt Niskanen also scored at 5:24 in the third period to put them up 3-2. Niskanen went end to end, skating through Philadelphia defenders Michael Del Zotto and Shayne Gostisbehere before beating Mason short side.

Mason had 27 saves during the game.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 10: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals shoots and scores his 500th career NHL goal in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Verizon Center on January 10, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty