Around the NHL: Ovechkin reaches 1,000 career goals, McDavid calls Pacific Division playoff race ‘pillow fight’
With playoff races coming down to the wire, these next couple of weeks are going to be very entertaining to see who gets in, and who winds up trying to move up the NHL’s Draft Lottery. Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:
Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin scores 1,000 career NHL goal
Alex Ovechkin continues to stamp his name all over the NHL’s record books, as the future Hall of Famer scored his 1,000th career goal over the weekend, regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs combined. Ovechkin was in his sweet spot off the left faceoff circle, and hammered home a one-timer against the Colorado Avalanche.
Ovechkin joins Wayne Gretzky as the only two players to surpass 1,000 career NHL goals, and now is just 16 behind the Great One for top spot in the records books. Ovechkin now has 923 regular season goals and 77 tallies in the playoffs.
The 40-year-old winger now ranks 12th in career playoff goals, and of course, is the NHL’s best regular-season goal scorer in history, after breaking Gretzky’s record in April 2025.
Connor McDavid calls Pacific playoff race ‘pillow fight’
Connor McDavid didn’t shy away from the fact nobody wants to win the Pacific Division at the moment, and frankly, he’s ok with it.
“Obviously, we’re fortunate to play in (the Pacific Division),” McDavid said after Edmonton’s 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. “A lot of teams are fortunate to play in this division. It’s a bit of a pillow fight right now. Thankful to not have lost any ground.
“That being said, we gotta find a way to win some games here on the road. Two big ones against Utah and Vegas. We gotta make some ground too. Good challenge ahead.”
The Oilers enter the week five points back of the Anaheim Ducks, with one game in hand. Edmonton sits in third place in the Pacific, and have to leap frog the Vegas Golden Knights, who have a one point lead on the Oilers. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, but are just four points back of the Oilers, with one game in hand. Needless to say, this pillow fight is going to come down to the wire this season.
Quick hits from around the NHL
- New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin recorded his league-leading seventh shutout of the season on Sunday, as the Isles blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0.
- Florida Panthers’ A.J. Greer has been suspended three games for boarding Calgary Flames’ Connor Zary.
- Chicago Blackhawks top prospect Anton Frondell is expected to make his NHL debut this week. Frondell was the third overall selection at the 2025 NHL Draft, and has posted 20 goals in 43 games for Sweden’s Djurgardens.
- Washington Capitals top prospect Cole Hutson posted two points in his first three NHL games, playing 17:07 a night.
- While the owners want it, don’t expect to see the NHL adapt a play-in round for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman isn’t a fan.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared recently that the Vancouver Canucks didn’t trade Elias Pettersson because they weren’t interested in retaining a large chunk of his $11.6 million cap hit.
- Nashville Predators have interviewed Brendan Shanahan, Marc Bergevin and Peter Chiarelli for their vacant general manager position.
- New York Islanders signed top defensive prospect Kashawn Aitcheson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Expect to see Aitcheson in the NHL, sooner than later.
- Speculation continues to brew that Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin would like to make a big splash in the summer upgrading his forward group.