Islanders have great respect for Alexander Ovechkin, the Great 8
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals controls the puck during the second period against Mathew Barzal of the Islanders at UBS Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Cal Clutterbuck spent his NHL career agitating opponents, either with his physical play or his verbal jabs. He admitted he could do so against Alex Ovechkin, soon to be the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer, possibly as soon as Sunday against the Islanders at UBS Arena.
But there was a difference between being able to do it and following through.
“You could, but you didn’t necessarily want to,” Clutterbuck, now an MSG Networks analyst, told Newsday. “Because he has that element to go out there and be physical. So if you were to get under his skin, he would ramp up his intensity, and you didn’t always want that out of him. He’s a big man and he hits hard, and you didn’t want to be putting the target on your own back with him.”
There have been few, if any, solutions to slowing the 6-3, 238-pound Ovechkin, 39, since the Capitals selected him first overall in 2004. Ovechkin, topping 40 goals for the 14th time in 20 seasons, scored twice in the Capitals’ 5-3 win over visiting Chicago on Friday night to match Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals.
Ovechkin brings a four-game goal streak (five goals) and 41 goals in 60 games this season into Sunday’s matinee — with ticket resale prices on the secondary market surpassing $1,000 — so the odds are good that he’ll break the record against the Islanders with Gretzky in attendance.
“He’s clearly doing something extremely special,” Anders Lee told Newsday. “It’s been fun to watch from afar. We’ll try to keep him off the board when we see him. I’ve been impressed with his ability to continue to be so consistent with putting the puck in the net. That is such a difficult thing to do, and the rate that he does it at. I know he’s got his spot on the power play [in the left circle], but he scores goals all over the ice.”
“Just the consistency of his goal-scoring, to be able to do what he’s done, especially in today’s day and age, it’s super-impressive,” Bo Horvat, who said he idolized Ovechkin while growing up in London, Ontario, told Newsday. “I don’t know if his record will ever be touched. It’s just been a treat to be able to witness and be part of it.”
“The Great 8” has 894 goals and 724 assists in 1,486 NHL regular-season games, including 44 goals and 24 assists in 71 games against the Islanders.
His last goal against the Islanders was Nov. 11, 2023, when he scored twice. He missed the teams’ first meeting this season, a 5-4 win for the host Capitals on Nov. 29, as he recovered from a fractured left fibula, so Sunday will mark Ovechkin’s first game against the Islanders since he was held without a point in a 5-1 loss on Dec. 29, 2023, at UBS Arena.
Gretzky, “The Great One,” had 894 goals and 1,963 assists in 1,487 NHL games and has held the NHL record since scoring his 802nd goal and surpassing Gordie Howe, “Mr. Hockey,” on March 23, 1994.
“I always had a lot of respect for what Wayne Gretzky did for our game,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I’m sure it was hard for him to leave Edmonton and be traded to Los Angeles, but it was good for hockey. Having him go in the Los Angeles market, he played a major role there. He’s been a very generous person for our game and it was an honor to play against him. And it’s impressive what Ovi is doing right now, scoring like this. Nobody thought he would have the chance to do it this year.”
Former Islanders coach Barry Trotz was behind the Washington bench in 2018 when Ovechkin led the Capitals to their lone Stanley Cup. Trotz spoke highly of Ovechkin publicly and to his players but rankled Islanders fans by labeling him the NHL’s greatest goal-scorer. Islanders fans, of course, revere Hall of Famer Mike Bossy.
“We got a good, nice story or two,” Lee said. “Barry had a high regard for Ovi and what he brought to the organization and the leadership role he had. He’s a competitive player. We’ve had some great matchups over the years.”
Trotz used to say the Islanders-Capitals first-round playoff matchup in 2014 was the most physical series of his career.
“They had a big, veteran team,” said Clutterbuck, who played in the series, won by the Capitals in seven games. “Ovi, Tom Wilson was young and very rambunctious. We had some guys that liked to throw their weight around. Really, for me, it was the last moment in my career where it was old-school hockey. I don’t think things ever got to that level of intensity again.”
But for all of Ovechkin’s physicality, goal-scoring prowess and competitiveness, he’s also fostered a hockey connection with opponents.
Horvat said he cherishes a photo of him and his son with Ovechkin and his son taken during the 2023 All-Star festivities in Sunrise, Florida.
“That was really cool for me just idolizing him growing up,” Horvat said. “As a Canadian, you always loved Sid [Crosby]. There was always that battle between him and Sid. You always paid close attention to those two when they played each other.”
“We had a lot of conversations through the years on the ice,” Clutterbuck said. “We were very competitive with each other, but one of those guys I really enjoyed competing with. We had some hilarious conversations.”
Anything printable?
“Not really,” Clutterbuck said. “It was always silly stuff.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
