Jordan Binnington said Thursday he had “full intention” of giving back Alex Ovechkin’s 900th goal puck after tucking it into his pads after the Russian star scored the milestone marker.
Binnington, 32, joked that since his turnover ledto the goal, he had a claim to it.
“Yeah, I figured … basically had an assist on the goal there, turning the puck over, didn’t think he’d mind sharing (the puck),” Binnington said, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. “I had full intention to give it back to him … yeah, full intention to give it back.”
Binnington on keeping Ovechkin’s puck: “Yeah, I figured … basically had an assist on the goal there, turning the puck over, didn’t think he’d mind sharing (the puck). I had full intention to give it back to him … yeah, full intention to give it back.” #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 6, 2025
After Ovechkin beat the St. Louis Blues goaltender to become the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals in the second period Wednesday night, 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. He handed the puck over after a brief conversation between the two.
Ovechkin laughed off the incident after the 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.
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?”
