Tuesday night in the NHL was nothing short of wild. The Washington Capitals’ goal-scoring machine, Alex Ovechkin, notched his 878th career goal in Washington’s 6-3 victory over the Panthers, lighting up Capital One Arena like a winter festival. And he did it with some serious drama—burying the puck into an empty net with just one second left on the clock! With that goal, Ovi inched 17 goals closer to cracking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals, making history one slapshot at a time. But hold up—while the moment was undeniably electric, not everyone was vibing with the way it went down. What had some fans side-eyeing? The empty net goal.
Yep, the NHL world had a lot to say about Alex Ovechkin padding his stats without a goalie standing in his way. One user even compared it to track and field, saying, “Alex Ovechkin empty netting his way to the record is the same as if the Olympics allowed wind-assisted sprint records. They don’t count for a very good reason. The NHL clearly doesn’t know how to deal with the barrage of empty net goals when an immortal record is at stake.” Ouch. But love it or hate it, no one in NHL history has scored more than him! And despite the chatter, hockey fans far and wide are rallying behind him, because let’s be real—when it comes to chasing Gretzky’s record, every single goal counts.
The Ovi empty-net haters have been loud, but one fan came through with a mic-drop moment on Subreddit. “Not only did Ovi break the record for most tendies scored on, he extended that record last night.” Translation? Ovechkin owns goalies. And for those side-eyeing his empty-netters, here’s a fun fact—out of 873 goalies to ever start an NHL game, Ovi has scored on 180.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
That’s 20.6% of every netminder in the 107 years of NHL history. And the best part? This fan is celebrating it in the most legendary way possible—by eating 180 chicken tenders this weekend. One tendie for every goalie Ovi has roasted.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
And the fans? Oh, they were riding with Alex Ovechkin all the way! One user summed it up perfectly: “I don’t hate the empty netters. A goal is a goal.” And let’s be real—that’s a fact. Every puck that crosses the line counts, period.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
And speaking of stacking up those goals, Alex Ovechkin wasn’t done yet! Just a few days later, under the bright lights of the Wells Fargo Center, he struck again—ripping his 879th career goal as the Capitals pulled off a thrilling 4-3 comeback against the Flyers.
This story is developing…