Gartner: Ovi 'might pass everybody' on NHL's all-time scorers list originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
With his overtime game-winner in Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins, Alex Ovechkin tied Hall of Fame winger Mike Gartner for 7th in the NHL’s all-time leading scorers list.
Tonight, with Gartner’s No. 11 hanging in the raptors of Capital One Arena, Ovi has the chance to surpass him.
Ahead of the second leg of this back-to-back between division rivals, Gartner joined the crew of Capitals Pregame Live to talk about what Ovechkin’s inevitable accomplishment means to him.
“He just tied me, he’s obviously going to pass me. He’s going to pass a lot of guys and he might pass everybody,” Gartner, who is one of only eight NHL players to score 700 career goals, said.
“Alex has got the whole package. He’s a guy that can skate, that obviously is a big player. He plays a lot of games over the course of a season. He shoots the puck a lot and he knows where to play. He really has all of the attributes.”
Gartner was the first Capitals forward to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, recording at least 35 goals in each of his nine full seasons in D.C., including a 50-goal, 102-point campaign in 1984-85. The four-time Capitals All-Star feels no shame in being surpassed by arguably the best players to ever wear the Capitals uniform.
If Ovechkin can score his 709th career goal, he’ll pass Gartner (708) for seventh in NHL history. Next, Ovi will have his eyes set on Phil Esposito’s 717 for sixth.