Mark Madden: Alex Ovechkin's milestone goal recalls memories of Phil Esposito's greatness

Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 718 on Tuesday, passing Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL’s all-time list.

I’m glad, because it got Esposito’s name out there again.

Esposito took no prisoners. He didn’t seek fights but wasn’t afraid to. He absorbed more punishment than he inflicted. He didn’t shoot 100 mph laser beams, like Ovechkin or Bobby Hull. He didn’t dangle past people, like Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky.

Esposito got in front of the net and went to work.

That’s where the goals are.

That’s not to imply Esposito was a one-trick pony. He was a sublime passer. He stickhandled well in tight areas. He played both ends, He didn’t have blazing speed, but was a strong skater who took big strides.

But Esposito had no equal down low. Deflections, rebounds, quick wrist shots and deft backhands were his specialties. Garbage goals, some called them, but Esposito piled them up like it was New York City during a sanitation strike.

“Jesus saves, and Esposito scores on the rebound.” That was a popular bumper sticker in Boston during Esposito’s tenure with the Bruins.

Esposito started his career in Chicago and finished it with the New York Rangers, but his glory days were spent in Boston.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound center played for the Bruins from 1967-75. He helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1970 and ’72. He set NHL records for goals (76) and points (152) in 1970-71. Those marks stood until Gretzky broke them in 1981-82 and 1980-81, respectively.

When Esposito retired in 1981, he stood second only to Gordie Howe in career goals and points.

But the best Esposito ever played was for his country. He dominated the first meeting between Canadian pros and Russian “amateurs,” the 1972 Summit Series.

Nobody ever has played hockey better than Esposito in that series. Canada trailed three games to one (with one tie) entering the final three contests, all on Moscow ice.

Esposito did everything but storm the Kremlin.

Canada won out to take the series. Esposito assisted on Paul Henderson’s series-winning goal with 34 seconds left in Game 8. Esposito finished with seven goals and six assists in eight games. Canada’s victory was a triumph of the will — primarily Esposito’s.

If Canada loses that series, national pride gets shaken to the core. Henderson was the hero, netting the winner in each of the last three victories. Esposito was Canada’s rock.

Esposito’s televised on-ice speech fending off criticism from Canadian fans and media after Canada lost Game 4 at Vancouver was his nation’s Gettysburg address.

That series belonged to Esposito. He later wrote, “I was never able to play at that level again.”

Esposito wanted it more. He almost always did.

Esposito was one of my favorite players when I was young. I often wore No. 77 (his digits with the Rangers) when I played street hockey.

I met Esposito as a kid because my mother and I knew Greg Polis and his family. Polis was a Penguins player who was later Esposito’s teammate with the Rangers. Esposito bought me my first beer at a Long Island restaurant when I was, I think, 15. When my mother mildly protested, Esposito jovially said, “Come on, Peg, let the kid live a little!”

I met Esposito since when he came to Pittsburgh in various capacities with the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Penguins icon Eddie Johnston was Esposito’s longtime teammate in Boston, which has been my intro.) Esposito is a terrific guy. He is pure class, not just an all-time great.

When the big, bad Bruins came to Pittsburgh in their heyday, they beat up on the Penguins something fierce. But Esposito, Bobby Orr and Co. were a spectacle worth seeing, even if the home team was on the losing end.

That’s my favorite part of Ovechkin’s 718th goal: Remembering Esposito.

I can’t wait for No. 895, but for a totally different reason.

BTW, if Lemieux doesn’t have back problems, cancer and that three-and-a-half-year hiatus, he might have scored 900.