NEW YORK – Washington Capitals continues Alex Oveckinthe goaltender of the Colorado Avalanche Alexander Georgiev and the downtown Vancouver Canucks Elias Pettersson were named NHL “Three Stars of the Week” for the week ending December 25.
FIRST STAR – ALEX OVECHKIN, VF, WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Video: WSH-WPG: Ovechkins makes history with two goals
Ovechkin had six points (2+4) in three games and led the Capitals (19-13-4, 32 points) to a perfect week that saw him pass Gordie Howe for second place on the all-time scoring list NHL times. He opened the week with an assist on Washington’s goal that set the stage for a turnaround in a 4-3 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on December 19 and had two more assists in a 3-2 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on December 19. on December 22nd
Ovechkin capped off the week with a historic night at Washington’s Capital One Arena as he scored two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, including goal No. and goal number 802 in the open area with one minute left in the game to pass “Mr. Hockey” and move into second place on the all-time scoring list. Ovechkin (22+19, 41 points in 36 games) leads the Capitals’ home scoring and is seventh in the standings with 22 goals in 2022-23. With current goal average, Ovechkin is on course for his 10th season with at least 50 goals and is now just 93 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL scoring record.
SECOND STAR – ALEXANDAR GEORGIEV, MV, COLORADO AVALANCHE
Video: COL-NYI: Rodrigues, Georgiev heroes for Avalanche
Georgiev led the NHL in wins of the week (3) – all in overtime – saving 82 of 85 shots to go 3-0-0 (0.94 GAA, 96.5 save percentage, one shutout) and helping Avalanche ( 19-11-2 , 40 points) to move up to third place in the Central Division. He opened the week by blocking all 26 shots and kept his 10th career capped as the Avalanche defeated the New York Islanders 1-0 on December 19. Georgiev then made 19 saves in a 2-1 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on December 21, followed by 37 saves in a 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators on December 23. The 26-year-old Georgiev, who joined Colorado via trade ahead of the 2022-23 season, ranks in the top 10 among goaltenders in the league in wins (15, tied for fifth), goals conceded per game (2.36; sixth) and savings rate (92.5; sixth).
THIRD STAR – ELIAS PETTERSON, C, VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Video: VAN-SEA: Five points and penalty decision by the Swede
Pettersson tied first in assists and points last week after posting seven points (2+5) in two games to help the Canucks (15-15-3, 33 points) move to 2-1-0. Pettersson did not play in Vancouver’s 1-5 loss to the St. Louis Blues on December 19 due to illness. He returned to the lineup in a 6-5 shootout win against the Seattle Kraken on December 22 where he had five points (2+3), three of which came in the third period, which included making it 5-5 with 1:20 remaining of ordinary time.
The game against Kraken was the fourth time in his career that Pettersson had at least five points during a game, which moved him past Alexander Mogilny for the most five-point games in club history. He finished the week with two assists in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on December 23. The 24-year-old forward leads the Canucks with 41 points (15+26) in 31 games and 13 multipoint games.
