Alex Ovechkin's mother has surprising take on her son's goal scoring

It seemed as though Father Time was finally catching up to Washington Capitals captain and franchise icon Alex Ovechkin during the first half of this season. During the first 43 games of the schedule, Ovechkin lit the lamp only eight times, leading many to wonder if his quest to match Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record of 892 was in danger. 

However, Ovechkin managed to turn back the clock and look more like his old self in the season's latter half, netting 23 goals in his next 36 games, culminating in a total of 31 goals for the season. This marks his 18th NHL campaign in which he lit the lamp at least 31 times, a new League record. 

Right now, he's only 41 goals away from tying Gretzky's mark - but in the words of Ovechkin's mother Tatyana, she's not interested in records.

“Personally, I’m not interested in [talk about the goals record] at all,” she explained during the recent Ovi Cup gala match in Moscow. 

“Sasha (Ovechkin's nickname) just plays hockey, not bothering his head with personal statistics,” she added. “And the pucks they’ll come, they won’t go anywhere. We all know that Sasha loves and knows how to score. God willing, he’ll succeed.”

“His family is like an oasis for him,” she continued. “He relaxes at home. And there are times when Sasha can fly off somewhere to Turkey for a vacation, play volleyball with friends, sunbathe. He is not bothered there.”

Can Ovechkin make history this upcoming season by tying and even surpassing Gretzky's goal scoring mark to become the greatest scorer in League history? 

Recommended articles:

• Jakub Vrana rejoins the Washington Capitals!
• Vrana signs a surprising NHL contract
• Contenders pull out of Patrik Laine’s trade sweepstakes!
• Evgeny Kuznetsov reveals details behind personal struggle
• Alex Ovechkin shocks as he exposes the role alcohol plays in NHL dressing rooms