WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is the 60th player in NHL history to record 700 career assists, reaching the milestone with his second point Tuesday night in the Washington Capitals' 4-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ovechkin had a secondary assist on Tom Wilson's power-play goal early in the second period, then set up linemate Aliaksei Protas a few minutes later.
“He makes that play happen on that goal,” coach Spencer Carbery said. "Great job using his feet, cuts back, finds space. That’s a huge play in that moment.”
A video montage of his assists played on arena video boards at the ensuing timeout, and Ovechkin waved to fans who gave him a standing ovation.
“It’s because of lots of shots, lots of rebounds coming from the net, so I’ll take it," Ovechkin said.
Second on the career goal-scoring list with 853, Ovechkin has three assists through his first two games of the season. The 39-year-old winger is 42 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record that long seemed unapproachable.
Ovechkin is the sixth player with 700 goals and 700 assists, joining Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito. He credited playing 20 years in the league for his latest accomplishment.
“It’s a pretty big number,” Ovechkin said. "Nice to be in that company.”
Ovechkin would need another 1,304 points to tie Gretzky, the “Great One,” who has more assists than anyone else in hockey has points.
The second game of the season came with the 39-year-old playing some right wing, shifting from the left side that has been his position for the vast majority of his career. He acknowledged it was difficult to adjust at first.
“You adjust, neutral zone, defensive zone, and especially in the offensive zone you’re moving around,” Ovechkin said. "It doesn’t matter for me. First couple shifts were kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s always like I wanted to go to the left side. But we’ll see how it goes.”
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Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, center, attempts a shot against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, left, and Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3 ) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has looked good in his first week back at practice after being sidelined by Achilles tendinitis and is on track to make his season debut Sunday against Tampa Bay.
McCaffrey returned to practice on Monday and has made it through three days of work on the field without any setbacks, leading coach Kyle Shanahan to say he expects his star back to play.
“He’s been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan told radio station KNBR on Thursday. “You never know (about) a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”
McCaffrey has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis since early August. He missed almost all of training camp before returning to practice just before the season opener. He was scratched at the last minute before that game against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 and then had a setback at practice Sept. 12.
He was placed on injured reserve two days later and spent the past seven weeks resting and rehabilitating, including a trip to Germany for treatment.
The 49ers (4-4) are counting on McCaffrey’s return for a second-half boost. San Francisco has sputtered in the first half of the season with the offense scoring 3.9 fewer points per game than last season.
“It’s been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy said of getting McCaffrey back. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get (him) next to you in the backfield, it’s been awesome. Looks great moving around and he’s trending in the right direction. So, we’re excited to see what happens.”
Jordan Mason has done a good job filling in for McCaffrey with 685 yards rushing in eight games, but the Niners have sorely missed the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year in the red zone and in the passing game.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns as he helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey speaks with the media after NFL football practice in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) scores a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)