Blues' Binnington 'always planned' to give Ovechkin his 900th goal puck

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Blues' Binnington 'always planned' to give Ovechkin his 900th goal puck

2025-11-07 07:08 Last Updated At：07:21

BUFFALO (AP) — St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington insists he always planned to hand over the puck Washington star Alexander Ovechkin scored in becoming the NHL's first to reach 900 career goals.

Binnington tucked the puck into his pants as the Capitals' bench cleared celebrating Ovechkin's milestone goal in a 6-1 win Wednesday night.

“Yeah, I figured I basically had an assist on the goal there, turning it over. Didn’t think he’d mind sharing it,” Binnington said after a morning skate before Thursday night's game against the Sabres in Buffalo. “But I had full intention to give it back to him.”

Binnington picked up the puck from the crease and used a bare hand to pick it up from his glove and put the puck into the back of his pants as he skated toward the boards. A linesman was seen talking with Binnintgon as he stood in his crease before the goalie pulled out the puck and gave it to the official.

“I don’t know, maybe he was trying to grab it to give it to him,” Capitals goalie Logan Thompson said Wednesday night.

Ovechkin posed for photos with the historic puck after the game.

Binnington complimented the historic goal by Ovechkin.

“Incredible play by him to catch that ... spin around and get that on net from a bad angle. Obviously, he’s such a legendary player and just seeing a play like that still happening at his age ... he's next level and he just continues to impress,” Binnington said.

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Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented medals to the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees during an event in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he had a hand in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

This year's recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman.

Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and vowed to overhaul both.

The president placed around each honoree's neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.

It's a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center's image and rainbow colors. The honoree's name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree's shoulders and chest.

Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby to be admitted.

The president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.

It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.

Later Saturday, after the Oval Office event, Trump was scheduled to attend an annual State Department dinner for the honorees. In years past, the honorees would receive their medallions at the dinner but Trump has moved the ceremony to the White House.

Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

The president said in August that he would host the show, but the White House has not characterized his level of participation. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host.

“I’ve been asked to host. I said, ‘I’m the president of the United States. Are you fools asking me to do that?'” Trump said back then. “And then Susie Wiles said to me, ‘Sir, I’d like you to host.' I said, OK, Susie, I’ll do it,” Trump said, referring to his White House chief of staff.

Trump spent several hours at the Kennedy Center on Friday. He participated in the FIFA World Cup draw for 2026 and accepted its inaugural peace prize. Trump also met in a group with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.