Rangers Peter Laviolette reflects on coaching Alex Ovechkin after record-breaking goal

Join Post Sports+ for exciting member-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.In the present, Peter Laviolette was just like the rest of the NHL, watching from afar as Alex Ovechkin approached and surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.But during Laviolette’s three seasons with the Capitals, he witnessed Ovechkin’s chase to pass Gordie Howe for No.

2 on the all-time goals list and was perched behind the bench in December 2022 when Ovechkin collected his 802nd.Everybody knew the next step — passing Gretzky — would eventually happen, Laviolette said Sunday, and then around an hour later, Ovechkin ripped a vintage shot from the slot past Ilya Sorokin during the second period of the Islanders’ 4-1 win against the Capitals.“It’s big news inside the league, too,” Laviolette said after the Rangers skated in Tarrytown ahead of their game Monday against the Lightning.

“I think everybody keeps an eye on it.Everybody’s tuned into it.

It’s a massive record.It’s the biggest record.

It’s a home run-type record.For that reason, everybody watches it.”When Laviolette arrived for the 2020-21 season, Ovechkin was in the middle of trying to string together enough goals to pass Howe, and he collected 24 during the condensed season before following that with the ninth 50-goal campaign of his career the following year.

Laviolette was also behind the bench when Ovechkin deposited a puck into the empty net to slide past Howe during the 2022-23 season, months before the Capitals and Laviolette parted ways after missing the playoffs.And three seasons later, with his Rangers struggling to keep up in a playoff race that — if they snagged the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot — would likely lead to a first-round showdown with Ovechkin and the Capitals for a second consecutive year, Laviolette watched his former player make history.“It becomes more and more on the table a...