Souhan: Minnesota Wild join Alex Ovechkin in achieving a big moment

Sunday was a big day for shooters around the NHL.

Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for career goals just before the Wild achieved a seemingly monumental milestone, scoring one more goal than their opponent for the first time since March 27.

Then, in the Wild locker room after the game, the actor who played Shooter McGavin in “Happy Gilmore” showed up in a Wild jersey to shake winger Matt Boldy’s hand.

Boldy produced a goal and two assists, the second coming on center Marco Rossi’s game-winning tip-in in overtime, in the Wild’s 3-2 victory over Dallas at Xcel Energy Center, putting the Wild in a much better position to hold on to a wild-card playoff berth.

The Wild’s recent offensive struggles only highlight the enormity of Ovechkin’s record. He scored his 895th goal. The entire Wild team was thrilled to get to three.

Ovechkin scored the record-breaker as most of the Wild players watched in their clubhouse. He ripped a shot from the left side of the goal, then dived and slid on his belly before his teammates mobbed him.

“That was an unreal moment in history,” Wild winger Marcus Foligno said. “You know it’s special. I mean, I think what was cooler was the celebration, with him diving on the ice. It’s a team sport, it’s not about individual accomplishments, but he’s a special player, the face of the league for a long time.

“Everyone in this league has so much respect for Alexander. To see him get it done is special.”

Ovechkin wears No. 8. Foligno faced him frequently when he played for Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.

“There were times when he almost had me lined up and he could have hit me and he would just give me a wink instead,” Foligno said. “That’s a little different than Playoff Alex Ovechkin, the bull in the china shop. He’s a big boy. I’ve seen a lot of shots go in from him, being in Buffalo. Just talk about being a penalty killer going up against him. You sit on him and he still gets shots off on goal.

“That area he shoots from, his office? When he retires, they should probably put an ‘8’ on the ice in all the NHL rinks, just to honor him.”

Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury began his NHL career in 2003. Ovechkin arrived two years later.

“That’s just awesome,” Fleury said. “I’m very, very happy for him. Very deserving. It’s a hell of a record. I just don’t think many people would have thought that record would ever be broken, right?

“And he did it and we’re all happy for him. A power play from his spot, another one-timer, it was like it was meant to be.”

Boldy scored his 26th goal Sunday, improbably swatting in a puck with a baseball swing. He leads the Wild in goals and has been a strong offensive player for the past three years.

Boldy has 101 career goals. If he averaged 30 goals a year for the next 12 years, he would have about half as many goals as Ovechkin has today.

“I haven’t seen his goal yet, but that’s pretty sweet,” Boldy said. “It’s pretty cool playing against him, someone that you looked up to growing up — how talented he was, how much he scored. I mean, he’s scored 40-some goals and he missed about five weeks — that’s pretty special. Hey, he’s the greatest goal-scorer of all time."

Wild coach John Hynes seemed thrilled by his team’s effort Sunday in beating a superior team without Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jake Middleton.

Did he take time to watch Ovechkin’s goal?

“Unbelievable,” Hynes said. “It’s history — history before our eyes. I had the opportunity to coach against him basically for 10 years. When you really think about breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record and the ability to score at that rate … but it also takes years of that, years of consistent scoring and staying healthy, of being able to play at such a high level. It was just amazing to see."