Alex Ovechkin scores goal in ‘Game of the Year’ between NHL stars and KHL stars

by Alex Ovechkin wrist shot appears to be in mid-season form already.

The Great Eight laced up their skates for some summer game action as they led a team of Russian NHL stars against some of the KHL’s top players at the CSKA Arena in Moscow on Saturday. The friendly, dubbed “Match of the Year,” featured New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin and new Utah HC defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

Ovechkin opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the first period.

Panarin recorded the primary assist on the goal, with Ovechkin getting past the KHL team’s netminder.

The Capitals captain, in his Caps-branded helmet and team-colored gloves, skated on a line with Panarin and Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin. The final score of the All-Star-laden matchup was a fitting 8-8, and Ovechkin was named the game’s player of the year.

“The last time we played in Moscow was at the World Cup,” Ovechkin told Match TV after the match, translated via Google Translate. “Of course the fans missed us, and we missed them. A very joyful event.”

Panarin played a key role in another highlight of the game when he scored a lacrosse-style spin-o-rama goal in the second period.

Other NHL goal scorers included Panarin, Malkin, Andrei Svechnikov, Pavel Buchnevich, Vasily Podkolzin and Dmitry Voronkov. Nikolay Goldobin and Pavel Poryadin led the KHL stars.

According to HockeyNewsHub, the sold-out event raised more than 10 million rubles ($144,000) for charity.

“I knew that Artemi Panarin made a cool match, and I wanted to unite, help somehow and do something bigger,” Sergachev told Daria Romanova of sports.ru. “I called Artemi, he told me to call Ovechkin, and everything worked out. The main thing is that all the guys came, supported and agreed. Without the guys, this event would not have happened.”

Ovechkin had both his mother Tatyana and wife Nastya with him to watch what was likely his first time on the ice since playing in a Dynamo Moscow alumni game in late May. The Ovechkin family had been vacationing in Turkey before returning to Russia earlier in July.