Deen’s Daily: 895 Goals! Alex Ovechkin Makes History

The Gr8 Chase passed The Great One, and everything about it was top notch. Both Canadian teams are running away with the wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference. Also, Miles Wood has been on a heater lately, and Parker Kelly is loving his new role.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — April 7.

Colorado Hockey Now

Miles Wood had himself a road trip. After the injuries to Martin Necas and Jonathan Drouin in Chicago, Wood entered the lineup and was paired with center Charlie Coyle on the third line.

After struggling with injuries and inconsistent play for most of the year, Wood is taking full advantage of this latest opportunity. He was one of the bright spots in Saturday’s loss to St. Louis.

Parker Kelly has become a fan favorite as of late. I spoke to him and Jack Drury about the improved fourth line and Kelly’s new role back on the wing. This one’s behind the paywall, and a great time to get subscribed to CHN+ ahead of the 202 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’re less than two weeks away from Game 1!

Around The NHL

Alex Ovechkin, The Greatest Goal Scorer in NHL History: You couldn’t script a better conclusion to the Gr8 Chase. Ovechkin scored a marvelous power-play goal assisted by longtime teammate Tom Wilson. It was right above the circle, and with the same release he’s used to scored hundreds of goals in the past.

Then, the epic celebration, where he mimicked his fountain celebration in Vegas after winning the Stanley Cup.

Kudos to the NHL for hosting a great ceremony. Loved seeing Wayne Gretzky speak to the crowd before Ovechkin got a chance to do the same. The back-and-forth between Ovi and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was pretty funny, too.

NYI Hockey Now: The Isles ended up winning 4-1, but I really don’t think anyone in Washington cared about the loss all that much. With the record behind them, they can refocus for these last five games before the postseason begins.

Montreal Hockey Now: Lane Hutson keeps making history. And another Habs win means Montreal now has an 85% chance of qualifying for the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings could maybe make things interesting, but they’ll have to beat the Habs in regulation on Tuesday to get the ball rolling. Detroit defeated Florida on Sunday.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers became the first team to rest some of their stars after officially clinching a playoff spot the previous night.

Ottawa Hockey Now: The Sens had a perfect weekend, with two shutouts, to keep ahead of the pack in the wildcard race. They’re likely locked into the first wildcard spot and potentially setting up a Battle of Ontario in the first round.

I loved watching the Leafs and Sens go head-to-head in the postseason when I was a kid. The last time they played was in 2004, when I still lived in Toronto. Those were some good times.

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Five potential options the Flyers could consider for their next head coach. And yes, David Carle is listed here.