The countdown to 894 has brought extra eyes to TV sets and additional ears to the radio for the opportunity to witness hockey history being made.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal Tuesday night for the Washington Capitals, inching him closer toward breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
Two men will provide the filter for the historic goals (894, 895, 900 and beyond) whenever they occur.
Joe Beninati has been in the booth for Ovechkin’s entire career.
He predated Ovi’s arrival by a decade (Joe started announcing Caps games in 1994) and still recalls his first impression of who was then just a prospect.
“First time I ever saw him was at the World Junior Tournament that he played for Team Russia in Grand Forks, North Dakota. And he was absolutely electric,” Beninati said.
Alexander Ovechkin is only goals away from becoming the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. Send your words of encouragement to the Capitals captain in a voicemail through the WTOP News app, available on Apple or Android. Use the feedback button in the navigation bar.
“The Caps go on to win the lottery, and the thought process was it’s either Ovechkin or (Evgeny) Malkin. And Evgeny’s gone on to an incredible career with Pittsburgh, but obviously Washington made the right move with the Great Eight here.”
When Ovechkin was taking the NHL by storm, John Walton was the play-by-play announcer for the Capitals’ top minor league affiliate in Hershey. He’s had the radio call with the Capitals Radio Network (1500 AM is an affiliate) since 2012 and despite seeing Ovechkin’s pursuit of the record up-close, he still has to process things.
“It is surreal. And to be this close and know what this means for our sport, the fact that he’s only worn a Washington uniform,” Walton said.
“And he’s been doing it for 20 years. It never gets old watching him play. So to be able to be a part of the crew that gets to call his action and call his goals and call history it’s an absolute privilege and I can’t wait for it to happen.”
When did Beninati realize Ovechkin wasn’t just the right pick at No. 1 in the draft, but a special and generational player?
“That rookie year,” Beninati said. “It’s so much fun to go back and see a 20-year old Alex Ovechkin. Just volcanic! The highlights that he produced, game after game the goals were amazing. Capped off by that one that was so incredible in Arizona.”
Ovechkin’s tally against the Phoenix Coyotes Jan. 16, 2006 remains an engineering marvel.
“This was a Mack Truck on skates. This was a guy who was playing middle linebacker in the NHL,” Beninati said. “And the hits that he threw were bone-jarring, bone-crunching.”
But it’s the goals fans are locked in on, and when you have a chance to corner somebody who’s seen Ovi’s first and most recent one you have to ask … ‘Is there a favorite?’ Wrong question!
“People always ask, ‘Do you have a top one? Do you have a top 10?’ I have a top 100 — I mean there’s a hundred where you just sit there and go ‘WOW!'” Beninati said. “I don’t have top fives and tens; I have top hundreds. He’s just blessed us with that.”
But one goal will be ‘the one.’ As in the one that puts Ovi ahead of Wayne Gretzky. And that puts a little pressure on the guys in the booth because you’ve got to stick the landing.
“My philosophy has always been: if you’re scripting something you’re going to get yourself into trouble. But at the same time, you know what it is going to be,” Walton said.
“I’ve looked at a few other things just to kind of grab a sense of history. But as far as how it happens, and when it happens, and where it happens, it’s tough to know and I don’t want to get out over my skis too much.”
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