Jordan Binnington appeared to attempt to hold on to a piece of history Wednesday night.
After Alex Ovechkin beat the St. Louis Blues goaltender to become the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals, Binnington pulled the puck out of his net and tucked it into his pads.
As Ovechkin’s celebration continued, Binnington was approached by a linesman and handed the puck over after a brief conversation between the two.
Ovechkin laughed off the incident post-game, declining to add any fuel to the fire.
“Yeah, I just saw it. I’m not going to comment,” the future Hall of Famer said.
The 32-year-old Binnington did not speak postgame.
Ovechkin’s 900th goal put the Washington Capitals up 2-0 on Tuesday and Binnington’s tough start to the season continued Wednesday as he was pulled with the Blues down 4-0 midway through the second period. He finished with 11 saves on 15 shots in the 6-1 loss, which dropped his record to 3-5-2 on the season with an .859 save percentage and a 3.34 goals-against average.
After backstopping Canada to victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Binnington remains a likely choice for the Olympic team in February. He could potentially share the net at the Milan Cortina Games with Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, who appeared to give Binnington the benefit of the doubt Wednesday.
“I was just so happy ‘O’ got it,” Thompson said, per The Athletic. “I don’t know, maybe he was trying to grab it to give it to him. Who knows?”
Ovechkin will look to continue to set the NHL goals record Thursday as the Capitals face the Pittsburgh Penguins and his career-long rival, Sidney Crosby.