Several goaltenders are being honoured for not being a victim of the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history.
On Monday, Budweiser issued a special line of cans to 28 past and present NHL goaltenders who have not, or were never, scored on by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
Among the names on the list includes current Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, as well as former Canucks Braden Holtby and Collin Delia.
Following Alex Ovechkin's record-breaking goal, @BudweiserCanada is honoring the 28 goalies who kept him off the scoreboard with #KingofZero commemorative cans. I love seeing some of the names on this list, including now-@NHLPA exec Rob Zepp. pic.twitter.com/9aPKrQ0kNs
— Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️ (@AlexMSilverman) April 7, 2025
Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal-scoring record on Sunday against the New York Islanders, potting the 895th goal of his illustrious career.
The list of netminders that received cans could’ve been 29. However, Ovechkin scored on fellow countryman Ilya Sorokin for the first time, breaking the record with a power-play goal.
Lankinen is the only Canucks goaltender to have faced Ovi while with Vancouver and not get scored on. The 29-year-old has gone up against Ovechkin thrice in his career, twice while with Canucks. In 14 shots against the Russian star, Lankinen turned him away each time.
It makes a lot of sense that Holtby wasn’t beaten by the GR8. The two spent parts of 10 seasons together in Washington, winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup together in 2018. Holtby made just one start against Ovechkin – that coming on Jan. 28, 2022 while with the Dallas Stars. Holtby gave up five goals in a loss to the Caps, but not one was scored by Ovi.
Holtby played one season in Vancouver, posting a 7-11-3 record in 21 starts during the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign, which the Canucks didn’t play against the Capitals as part of the Scotiabank North Division.
Delia only spent the 2022-23 season with the Canucks, going 10-6-2 in 20 appearances. His lone crack at Ovechkin came on Jan. 20, 2019, as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. Ovi had two shots on goal in that game, but Delia was able to stop him and score the win in a wild 8-5 contest.
The netminder with the most saves without giving up a goal to Ovechkin is his former Capitals teammate, Vitek Vanecek. The current Florida Panthers netminder was with Washington for two seasons, but he saw Ovi and the Caps quite a bit in his two years with the New Jersey Devils. Vanecek has stopped all 19 shots he’s faced from the NHL’s top goal scorer.
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