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Washington Capitals celebrate Alex Ovechkin's 500th NHL goal with ceremony (Video)

Josh Cooper

The Washington Capitals honored captain Alexander Ovechkin for scoring career NHL goals with a tribute before their game against the Vancouver Canucks at Verizon Center on Thursday.

The festivities included a video featuring several hockey legends, along with a golden stick presentation for Ovechkin in front of his family.

The above video included messages from Brett Hull, Peter Bondra, Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure, Pierre Turgeon, Luc Robitaille, Mike Gartner, Lanny McDonald, Jarome Iginla, Steve Yzerman, Phil Esposito, Teemu Selanne and Wayne Gretzky. All players have scored 500 goals or more in their careers.

Said Gretzky, “You’ve brought a lot of joy to a lot of people around the world, throughout North America and worldwide. You’re fun to watch and you’re a positive for the NHL and I wish you nothing but the best of luck in the future. Well done.”

Added Yzerman, “At a time when it’s very difficult to score in the NHL yourself and a very short list of players have set a standard for goal scoring in the league and it’s been incredible to watch throughout the course of your career."

The 30-year-old Ovechkin scored his 500th goal on Sunday against the Ottawa Senators. The goal came in his 801st career NHL game, making him the fifth-fastest player to hit the mark in league history. Coming into Thursday’s action, Ovechkin led the NHL with 26 goals. He has five goals in his last three games played.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!