Worldwide Sports News

Fans across the NHL patiently wait for Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record, tying The Great One with two goals on Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Lost in the shuffle of the news of goal No. 894 and the pursuit of No. 895 is the fact that Ovechkin tallied the game's winning goal, the 136th of his career. This established a new NHL record for the most game-winning goals, surpassing former Pittsburgh Penguins icon Jaromir Jagr.

A fitting stat for the evening. 📊

Alex Ovechkin takes sole-possession of first place on the NHL's All-Time Game-Winning Goals Leaders, passing Jaromir Jagr. pic.twitter.com/pfWqDVdpwV

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 5, 2025

Jagr played with the Penguins from 1990 to 2001, and the former captain scored a franchise record of 78 game-winners. Until the salary cap era, only two players scored more than 50, the other being Mario Lemieux, who had 74 in his career. 

Meanwhile, in other cities, Jagr continued his quest for the NHL record, which Gordie Howe held with 121 when he retired after the 1979-1980 season. The ageless wonder scored 13 with the Washington Capitals and 21 with the New York Rangers. 

When Jagr departed the NHL to play in the KHL, he was behind only Phil Esposito and Howe on the all-time list. Upon a return in 2011, he picked up two game-winners with the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, and Boston Bruins while adding to his totals with eight with the Florida Panthers and nine with the New Jersey Devils.

Surprisingly, the only team Jagr didn't record a game-winner with was the Calgary Flames, with whom he played 22 games in 2017-18 and scored one goal.

Now, one goal away from becoming the game's greatest scorer, it is only fitting that Ovechkin establishes another record, tallying the most game-winners while owning the highest power-play goal total in league history. 

Over 19 seasons with the Capitals, Ovechkin has scored the deciding goal against every franchise except the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, Seattle Kraken, and Vegas Golden Knights. 

BREAKING: Sidney Crosby Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Point-Per-Game Seasons RecordAfter 20 years in the making, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has made NHL history.

Despite scoring more than ten goals against all but three franchises, Utah Hockey Club, Golden Knights, and Kraken, Ovechkin has only scored more than ten game-winners against one franchise, the New York Islanders, with a career-high 11 winners.

The NHL's game-winning goal milestone isn't the only record Ovechkin has overtaken Jagr for during the 2024-25 season. In January, The Great 8 scored against his 179th goalie, surpassing Jagr's career total of 178. 

Ovechkin's quest for goal No. 895 continues on Sunday against the Islanders and Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The Chicago Blackhawks lost 5-3 to the Washington Capitals on Friday night. The Capitals, a Stanley Cup-contending team, may even agree that the game’s final score is not a vital storyline to come out of it. 

During the game, Alex Ovechkin scored two goals which tied him with Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. It was one of the most insane scenes you’ll ever see during an NHL game and it wasn’t even the record-breaking goal. That comes later. 

During the game, Chicago Blackhawks forward Oliver Moore collected his first NHL point in a goal scored by Frank Nazar. Later in the game, he earned his second with an assist on a goal scored by Philipp Kurashev. 

Moore and Sam Rinzel signed with the Blackhawks after their elimination from the NCAA Tournament with Minnesota. Now, they each have three games played and Moore has two points. It was important for him to get these confidence boosting points as he is a forward looking to create offense. 

Moore’s incredible accomplishment was overshadowed by the fact that Ovechkin tied the record, which was all anyone could talk about following the game. That doesn’t take away how special this is for Moore as he begins his hockey career. 

It seems that Moore is a student of the game who appreciates the all-time greats. He was not bothered by the fact that Ovechkin tied the record, which overshadowed his first time being on the scoresheet. 

"That was a surreal game. That was absurd." Moore said when reflecting on what just happened. "He's the greatest goal-scorer of all time so I was happy for him, to be honest with you. It was really cool to see."

Moore wasn’t the only young player with a major milestone overshadowed by Ovechkin’s moment either.

Ryan Leonard, who was recently signed by Washington when Boston College was eliminated, scored his first career NHL goal. Like Moore’s first point, not many talked about it as much as they would have if Ovechkin’s record-tying goal had not been involved.  

Up next for Oliver Moore is his search for his first NHL goal. His ability to play hard, the right way, and fast will allow him to get that in short order. The Pittsburgh Penguins are at the United Center for an evening game on Sunday. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

The Edmonton Oilers (44-26-5) are in town just before the playoffs to face off against the Los Angeles Kings (43-23-9) in the third of their four-game series. The Oilers are two points behind the Kings, making it important for the Kings to secure these two points and officially clinch a playoff spot. With the best home record in the NHL of 28-4-4, playing in Los Angeles was a challenging task for any visiting team. Darcy Kuemper manned the net for the Kings while Calvin Pickard led the Oilers out. As Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remained out of the lineup today, the Kings held a significant advantage to defeating Edmonton on home ice. After missing the previous game against the Utah Hockey Club, the Kings' defense sees the return of Jordan Spence to the lineup. 

Kings and Oilers Battle Hard in First Period

The game officially began with the opening faceoff, as Anže Kopitar won against Adam Henrique. Both the Kings and the Oilers were delivering hits throughout the period, but with seven minutes remaining, the Kings held the lead in shots at 7-3. Kuemper was effectively protecting the Los Angeles net, while Edmonton, playing without their captain and Draisaitl, lacked their usual energy and speed. As the buzzer sounded, both teams headed into intermission scoreless. 

Kings Lead 2-0  

The second period burst into action with a beautiful goal by Jeff Malott, but the celebration was short-lived. An Oilers challenge proved successful, overturning the goal due to an offside ruling, leaving the score at 0-0 and Malott still seeking his first NHL goal. Moments later, Kevin Fiala netted his 30th of the year, scoring on a rebound to make the score 1-0. Andrei Kuzmenko then extended the Kings' lead, scoring his eleventh goal of the season with a quick snap shot to make it 2-0. The second period drew to a close with the Kings showing consistent aggression and strong play, while the Oilers looked noticeably tired and without their typical spark. 

This goal was too amazing to not count pic.twitter.com/aW61OX02Dc

— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) April 5, 2025

30 FOR KEV! pic.twitter.com/XzYsM8WmLS

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

KUZ IS INEVITABLE pic.twitter.com/SiMI3tzWps

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

If anything is for certain as the Pittsburgh Penguins get ready to face off against the Dallas Stars, it's that they don't want a repeat of their last matchup.

On Nov. 11, the Penguins gave up six first-period goals - tying a franchise record for most goals allowed in the first period of a game at home - and dropped their first contest of the season against the Stars, 7-1.

And in that game, Pittsburgh had a very hard time defending Dallas's size and speed.

McGroarty Scores First NHL Goal In Penguins 5-4 Overtime Loss To BluesThe Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday - which gave the Blues their whopping 11th straight win - obviously wasn't the desired result.

"Our compete level has to be high," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We've got to get into people early, just our ability to move to them and not let them get to the good ice and establish the ice. Once they get there, it's hard to move them because they're big and they're strong. But we can move to them and try to deny them the good ice. That gives us a better opportunity to establish inside positioning and box-outs.

"But, without a doubt, that's going to be one of the challenges against a team as big as they are."

Dallas also has the league's best penalty kill, which will be tasked with stopping a Penguins' power play that has scored on four of its last 10 opportunities. 

"They have good size, they can skate, they anticipate well, they have good sticks, and they have good goaltending," Sullivan said. "That's a pretty good formula for a penalty kill. We're going to have to move the puck, we're going to have to be willing to shoot... but I think, most important, we've got to get inside. We've got to make them defend the scoring area. We've got to be willing to put the puck there, but we've got to get people there, also."

Rookies Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen - who have played well the past two games and both registered career-firsts in a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday - will still be part of the power play units, and they'll also still be featured in the Penguins' top-six.

But this time, Koivunen may have a new center.

Evgeni Malkin - who has been out since Mar. 23 with an upper-body injury - took line rushes on Friday and will be in the lineup on Saturday. In practice, he was working on a second line with Koivunen and Rickard Rakell, while Sidney Crosby continues to center McGroarty and Bryan Rust on the first line.

With Malkin back in the mix, here is the rest of the Penguins' lineup. Tristan Jarry will get the start in goal:

McGroarty-Crosby-Rust
Rakell-Malkin-Koivunen
Dewar-Hayes-Tomasino
Heinen-Lizotte-Acciari

Grzyleck-Letang
Karlsson-Timmins
Graves-Shea

---

Penguins Notebook: Malkin Practices With Team, Bemstrom OptionedIt appears a key forward is nearing a return for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Stars are one of the hottest teams in hockey, as they have an active seven-game winning streak and are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games. They are second overall in the Western Conference - and third in the NHL - with 104 points, and they are four points back of the NHL's best team in the Winnipeg Jets for the Central Division crown.

The Stars have three players in Matt Duchene, Jason Robertson, and Mikko Rantanen - acquired at the trade deadline by the Stars - who are over the point-per-game threshold, and they have a league-leading seven different players with 20 or more goals on their roster. They are fifth overall in the league in goals for and tied for third in goal differential (plus-69).

Penguins forward Bryan Rust enters Saturday's matinee matchup just one goal shy of 200 for his NHL career.

---

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!     

The Buffalo Sabres regular season will conclude in less than two weeks, which will begin the post-mortem on their 14th season in a row not qualifying for the playoffs, but there are a number of ex-Sabres who will be active in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and integral to the success of their clubs.

Here are five players who will have critical roles in the post-season:

Jack Eichel

The former Sabres captain is leading the Vegas Golden Knights in scoring (27 goals, 66 assists in 74 games) and is a legitimate Hart and Selke Trophy candidate. The Pacific Division leader could have an easier path through the Western Conference, but injuries to Shea Theodore and Tomas Hertl will make Eichel’s production critical to their postseason chances.

Sam Reinhart

The reigning Stanley Cup champs are hampered by injuries, with Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and the suspended Aaron Ekblad unavailable. Reinhart has followed up his first 50-goal season with 37 goals this season, and the Panthers will be relying on him more heavily if Tkachuk and Barkov are hampered going into the first round against either Toronto or Tampa Bay.

Jake McCabe

The former Sabres blueliner has been part of the Leafs shutdown pairing with veteran Chris Tanev and has also contributed 23 points, but as has been the case throughout most of his career, McCabe’s health will be a big consideration. The veteran left Toronto’s 3-2 victory over Florida on Wednesday late in the third period and will not be in the lineup on Saturday against Columbus.

Other Sabres Stories

Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday?

Sabres Ownership Ranked Worst In NHL By Survey In The Athletic

Dahlin Refutes Assertion Of Wanting Out Of Buffalo

Linus Ullmark

The former Vezina winner has provided the Ottawa Senators the stable goaltending they’ve needed for years and it is a near certainty that they will make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but if the former Sabre gets hot, it is not impossible that the Sens could upset the eventual Atlantic Division winner in the first round.

Evander Kane

It’s strange to consider a player who has not played a regular season game to be a potential key contributor, but Kane (who has been on LTIR all year recovering from two serious injuries) is expected to be ready to play Game 1 of the first round and could possibly step in before then if the Oilers have the cap room to activate him. Edmonton’s chances of repeating will rely on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s recovery before the playoffs, but they will also need secondary scoring from players like Kane to get by Los Angeles later this month.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo