Tretyak called Ovechkin's secret his trademark sense of goal

Alexander Ovechkin, the Russian forward of the Washington Capitals hockey club, who equaled the record of four—time Stanley Cup winner Wayne Gretzky for goals in the regular championships of the National Hockey League (NHL) and will break it any day, has his own secret of success - the feeling of a goal. On April 5, Soviet hockey player, goalkeeper, and coach Vladislav Tretyak told Izvestia.

In the Washington Capitals' last match against the Chicago Blackhawks, Ovechkin hit a tricky shot from close range in the fourth minute of the game. After that, the puck flew past the goalkeeper like a rocket and burst into the far corner of the goal, correspondent Maxim Sirotkin said.

"He has a sense of goal. It is very important. It's like Gretzky, he's like some hockey players. They know where the puck will be after the goalkeeper hits it and will not be able to fix it on himself or on the ice," Tretyak said.

Ovechkin is chasing Gretzky's great record. What you need to know

Earlier that day, in a match against HC Chicago, Ovechkin scored his 894th goal in the NHL regular season and repeated Gretzky's sniper record. The Canadian hockey player personally congratulated the Russian player on repeating his record for goals in the NHL. The athletes also took a photo together in the locker room after the match. The NHL recognized the Russian as the first and second stars of the last game day.

The director of the Bolshoi Moscow State Circus, Edgard Zapashny, suggested in a conversation with Izvestia that Ovechkin, who equaled Gretzky's record, could seriously surpass the result of the Canadian hockey player in the future, after which no one would be able to repeat it for a long time, but even get close to him.