When Alex Ovechkin breaks the all-time goals record, he will score it against a goalie.
The Washington Capitals captain tied Wayne Gretzky's record with his 894th goal in Friday's 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ovechkin's second goal of the game, which tied the record, put the Capitals up 4-3 early in the third period. The Blackhawks pulled goalie Spencer Knight late in the game, but Ovechkin stayed on the bench until rookie Ryan Leonard scored into the empty net.
After Knight returned to the net, Ovechkin came back out on the ice and fired multiple shots in the last minute but Knight shut the door.
After the game, Ovechkin confirmed he doesn't want the record-breaking goal to be on an empty net while speaking at a podium with Gretzky.
"I felt so bad for the youngster with a breakaway on the empty net," Gretzky said in reference to Leonard. "I kept thinking, 'OK, do you go around the net?'"
Ovechkin then interrupted Gretzky to say, "I don't want it on an empty net."
"OK," Gretzky replied with a laugh. "I took every empty net I could get."
Washington head coach Spencer Carbery is also well aware of his captain's desire to avoid an empty-net record breaker.
"He wants to break the record with the goaltender in the crease," Carbery said after the game.
The Capitals have six games remaining on the schedule this season and will be back on the ice Sunday afternoon in New York against the Islanders.
