KANATA, Ontario, Canada — If you listened closely, you could probably hear a collective sigh coming from the Blue Jackets’ locker room Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre. 

Alex Ovechkin’s 895th career goal — scored against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York — allowed the Jackets to relax knowing that Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record won’t be broken during one of the back-to-back games next weekend against the Washington Capitals.

That relief was appreciated most by the Jackets’ five Russian players, who’ve rooted for Ovechkin to break the record while crossing their fingers it didn’t happen against the Jackets.

“That’s the guy who I watched when I was young, and I’m just really happy for him,” Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov said Wednesday, when Ovechkin was still four goals away from history. “I really hope it doesn’t happen against us.”

Imagine the relief felt by Blue Jackets goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov — Tarasov especially, because he’s a Russian whose father was a professional goalie Ovechkin knows and occasionally still asks about. Now, Tarsov can just enjoy Ovechkin’s feat without worrying about becoming the answer to a trivia question.

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“For every kid back in Russia in my generation, there were Russians who came to the NHL and played at a very high level,” Tarasov said. “(Ovechkin) and (Evgeni Malkin) and (Ilya) Kovalchuk, those guys and (Pavel) Datsyuk … these are huge names for the world of hockey and especially for Russia. When you’re growing up seeing those guys, it’s unreal just watching plays and how they’ve scored some goals, especially Ovi.”

Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason and Rick Nash, the team’s director of hockey operations and former superstar forward, each have memories of Ovechkin. Evason’s first game as a Capitals assistant coach was Ovechkin’s NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005 in Washington, and that night, Ovechkin scored his first goal against the Blue Jackets. (He scored his second less than five minutes later.)

Guess who was on the ice with a front-row view?

“I remember there was a lot of buildup coming into that game,” Nash said. “I think it was after the (2005-05 NHL lockout), and it was two of these studs, (Sidney) Crosby and Ovechkin, coming into the league. So, it was the first time I got to put eyes on Ovi, and he didn’t disappoint, right from the start. Seeing him in his first game, he was everything as advertised.”

Evason saw the same goal from the Capitals’ bench. Twenty years later, he watched from the coaches’ office at Canadian Tire Centre as “The Great Eight” passed “The Great One” in all-time goals. 

“It’s extremely special for not only him and the Capitals, and whoever has been around it, but the hockey world,” Evason said. “I’m certainly happy for him and his family. I know the hockey player that he is, and the man, and everybody has a great deal of respect for him.”

Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is certainly in that category. He’s had the challenging task of defending Ovechkin for nine years as a Metro Division rival and played with the Capitals’ captain on two division teams that competed in NHL’s all-star games (2018, 2022). 

“I’ve been trying to watch all their games the last couple weeks just to see the chase and see him become the greatest goal-scorer,” Werenski said. “Obviously, playing against him is always a challenge. Even the goal today that breaks the record, we were talking about it in the (locker) room. There’s no one in the league that shoots that puck on a power play entry beside him … and it’s a missile, top corner. He’s been doing it his whole career, so it’s super impressive and it was awesome to witness greatness.”

The fact it didn’t happen in Columbus with a group of admiring Russians on the Blue Jackets’ bench made it even more special for Tarasov, Chinakhov, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitry Voronkov and Ivan Provorov. 

“It’s hockey history and you’re really proud that a guy from your country did this incredible thing,” Tarasov said. “He’s 39 and he’s still scoring like he was in his prime. He’s showing that it doesn’t matter how old you are. You can still score when you’re playing with the passion that he has … the love of hockey. For all Russians who are growing up now, they’re watching this guy playing at this level at this age and he’s not just skating. He’s not just scoring five or 10 goals. He’s still dominating.”

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at[email protected] and@BrianHedger.bsky.social 

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