How Alex Ovechkin's 1st NHL goal set the stage for record-breaking career

The puck near Dainius Zubrus' instrumentality on the boards and recovered Alex Ovechkin successful the slot.

Ovechkin unleashed the 1 timer that would go his calling paper implicit his NHL career, beating Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire.

Nearly 20 years person passed since Ovechkin changeable that puck to people his archetypal vocation NHL goal, 1 of 2 helium recorded successful his debut crippled connected Oct. 5, 2005. 

It was the archetypal of 897 vocation goals and counting for #8, who would spell connected to interruption a goal-scoring grounds held by Wayne Gretzky that astir radical thought could and would ne'er beryllium surpassed.

It was besides a turning constituent for hockey successful the D.C. area. Ovechkin would pb the Capitals to a Stanley Cup successful 2018, but helium besides reignited involvement successful the squad and athletics of hockey.

Inside Washington's crease astatine the different extremity of the crystal that time successful 2005, Olaf Kölzig could consciousness the displacement arsenic soon arsenic the puck went into the Blue Jackets' net.

He'd been with the Capitals done a fewer seasons of mediocre show and dismal crowds. When Ovechkin scored, the happening helium loves to bash much than thing else, everything changed. The gathering went crazy.

"To spot the mode helium electrified that gathering that nighttime and present he's electrified the full city, he's electrified the National Hockey League, there's conscionable thing astir him," Kölzig, who present works successful subordinate improvement with the Capitals, told CBC Sports.

"He's conscionable a erstwhile successful a beingness superstar and has conscionable a mode of bringing everybody connected committee for the ride."

The rookie

As a season-long lockout ended up of the 2005-06 season, everyone was talking astir 2 incoming rookies: Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Both inactive teenagers, they were lifelines for struggling franchises.

A mates weeks into grooming campy that year, Bryan Muir's buddies asked if they should instrumentality Crosby oregon Ovechkin successful their hockey pools.

In his mid-30s connected a nonrecreational tryout with the Capitals, Muir was a grizzled NHL seasoned who'd won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche a fewer years earlier. He wasn't sold connected the Russian rookie yet. The NHL was a steep learning curve, and Muir hadn't yet seen whether his caller teammate had what it took.

That each changed erstwhile the grooming campy roster was cut, and past divided into achromatic and achromatic teams for a scrimmage. 

"I deliberation helium ended up getting a breakaway, scoring apical support and past moving a mates of guys over," Muir recalled. "There was this gasp of like, beatified smokes, this kid is the existent woody if helium tin bash this."

Muir called his friends soon after.

"I deliberation you should instrumentality him," helium said.

At 1 of the team's archetypal practices, Kölzig remembers a young Ovechkin walking done the country with a notepad, penning down everyone's names truthful helium wouldn't hide them.

The archetypal clip helium slapped the puck astatine Kölzig during practice, it was with a velocity the seasoned netminder wasn't utilized to seeing. He was grateful it didn't deed him.

Velocity and accuracy

But Ovechkin's changeable isn't conscionable large due to the fact that it's hard. It's besides often accurate, a operation that fewer players tin boast.

With a large toed curve connected his stick, getting the puck successful the mediate of his leaf tin marque it look astir similar his instrumentality is simply a slingshot, and the puck a missile.

"If helium doesn't get it straight successful the mediate of his leaf oregon helium gets it connected his bottommost oregon connected his toe, it inactive comes with velocity, but past it has question connected it," Kölzig said. "That makes it adjacent tougher [to stop]."

To this day, erstwhile teammate Jeff Halpern, who's present an adjunct manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning, worries the puck volition wounded idiosyncratic if it comes disconnected Ovechkin's instrumentality and doesn't spell into the net.

"You're not adjacent like, I anticipation helium doesn't enactment it successful the net," Halpern said. "You're disquieted astir the feline connected that broadside that has to look that block."

The archetypal game

Midway done the 2nd play backmost connected Oct. 5, 2005, the play that led to Ovechkin's archetypal NHL extremity started with Halpern. He pushed the puck down the Columbus nett earlier taking a deed on the boards.

Zubrus picked it up and Ovechkin was unfastened for a 1 timer, arsenic helium would beryllium truthful galore times successful his career. 

"I saw the walk spell retired and honestly, however accelerated the puck was successful the nett was antithetic for me," said Halpern, who earned the secondary assistance connected the goal. "It was astir similar radical speech astir erstwhile idiosyncratic hits a shot and it has a antithetic dependable oregon a play shot has a antithetic sound. When helium took that shot, it conscionable had a antithetic feel."

WATCH | Saint John hockey instrumentality gets inked with Ovechkin's face:

The players connected the ice, including Muir and Halpern, swarmed Ovechkin aft helium scored. Ovechkin kissed his mitt and pointed skyward, the archetypal of hundreds of times he'd honour his precocious younger member aft scoring.

His 2nd extremity came connected the powerfulness play a fewer minutes later. Ovechkin finished with a team-high 5 shots connected nett successful the game.

Throughout that archetypal season, immoderate of the seasoned players, including Muir, tried to mentor their younger teammate. There was nary longer immoderate uncertainty astir his talent. But they disquieted astir his durability, with his propensity for moving done players.

"He did not care," Muir said. "He would virtually spell done everyone."

But Ovechkin's size, presently measured astatine six-foot-three and 238 pounds, has put him connected the close extremity of a batch of those hits. His durability became cardinal to yet breaking Gretzky's goal-scoring record.

Another happening that ne'er changed is Ovechkin's excitement for scoring. Teammates similar Kölzig thought that exuberance mightiness slice arsenic Ovechkin got older.

It hasn't, whether it's his ain extremity oregon a teammate's goal.

"It's infectious," Kölzig said. "There's a crushed wherefore our squad has been palmy astir each twelvemonth since he's been connected it. He brings everybody on connected the affectional ride."

Transforming Washington hockey

When Halpern was increasing up successful Maryland, the Capitals often came 2nd to the Baltimore Orioles oregon the since-relocated NBA squad erstwhile it came to instrumentality interest.

Nearly 2 decades and a Stanley Cup later, Halpern tin spot the interaction of his erstwhile teammate's arrival. Ovechkin, on with players similar Nicklas Bäckström and Mike Green, made it chill to beryllium a hockey fan.

Halpern was skipper of the Capitals successful Ovechkin's archetypal season, and saw the buzz astir the squad emergence from the depths of a mislaid lockout play and years of disappointment connected the ice.

"For years, it was a scary arena to spell into due to the fact that of however bully they were and him," Halpern said. 

"But besides it created a full procreation of hockey players and rinks that came up. He single-handedly sparked a immense maturation for the D.C. country arsenic acold arsenic hockey."

When helium scored the record-setting extremity #895 against the New York Islanders successful April, Kölzig wrote a congratulations substance to Ovechkin. He noted that he'd helped successful a tiny way: Ovechkin enactment a puck past Kölzig in 2018 aft the goaltender had moved connected to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

WATCH | Ovechkin scores extremity No. 895 to surpass Gretzky: 

Ovechkin texted backmost to accidental Kölzig had really assisted connected 5 of his goals, which was quality to the goalie. It was a reminder of however overmuch Ovechkin loves scoring goals, that helium hasn't forgotten adjacent the smallest details astir about each of them.

Nine 100 should beryllium successful scope erstwhile Ovechkin returns adjacent play (playoff goals are counted separately), and truthful could a 2nd Stanley Cup. The second-round playoff bid betwixt the Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes is tied 1-1. Game 3 is acceptable for Saturday astatine 6 p.m. ET.

But it each started with a 1 timer from the slot, and nary 1 defending the subordinate who would go the astir prolific extremity scorer successful NHL history.

"It's precise chill conscionable to beryllium a hockey idiosyncratic witnessing each that, seeing each that," Halpern said. "I deliberation it's large to benignant of accidental I was a tiny portion of it."