It wasn’t exactly the emphatic return fans were expecting or hoping for from Alexander Ovechkin, but he got on the score sheet all the same.
The 39-year-old scored a breakaway empty-net tap-in goal late in the third period of the Washington Capitals‘ 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, his first game back from injury in 40 days.
Ovechkin suffered a fractured left fibula on Nov. 18 against the Utah Hockey Club but made an unexpected speedy recovery in nearly six weeks.
The easy tally was his 16th of the season and 869th of his career, resuming his chase of Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record (894).
Ovechkin is now just 26 goals from passing Gretzky and, despite the extended injury absence, has now scored six goals in his last three games played.
Toronto was just another convenient victim for “The Great Eight,” as he’s affectionately called, having scored 25 times in 30 road games against the Maple Leafs in his career.
He’ll get another immediate opportunity to score from traditional open play on Sunday when Washington travels to Detroit to take on the Red Wings.
