As the NHL trade deadline approaches, the Washington Capitals are focused not only on team improvements but also on Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. With 30 goals in 43 games this season, Ovechkin is just 12 goals shy of reaching 895. General Manager Chris Patrick expressed surprise at Ovechkin's resilience, especially after missing 16 games due to injury. Despite being ranked seventh in the league, Ovechkin's scoring pace has been stronger than in years, highlighting his unique ability and suggesting that surrounding him with better teammates could boost his chances of breaking the record before season's end.
‘Unbelievable,’ he said. ‘Sitting with all of you guys at the beginning of the year, somebody asked me if I thought he could do it this year, and it’s like, ‘I don’t know. Hopefully, he’s close by the end.’ But if you would have told me we’d be sitting here now, he’s 12 goals away, and he missed 16 games - again, he continues to defy all expectations.’
‘He has the ability to get shots off that a lot of mere mortals can’t shoot,’ Patrick remarked.
‘The better the team is around Alex, the better it is for Alex because it just gets harder for other teams to match his line, other lines,’ he said.
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