Where do you even begin with 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr? Currently, he’s posted four goals in the last three games. Against the Kings, he has 30 points in 30 games lifetime. And after his overtime marker in Los Angeles on Thursday, he’s now tied with Mario Lemieux for 690 career goals, good enough for ninth best in league history.
If that’s not enough, he also just tied Gordie Howe for tops all-time with 121 game-winning goals.
Oh, and he now sits alone at the top in one category too. Jagr’s goal to beat the Kings gave him 18 overtime game winners, more than any other player to come before him.
Prior to jumping on an exercise bike after the game was over, which is part of his usual post-game routine, he sat in his stall answering questions for the gathered media. Here’s a full transcript of what he shared…
On if he is going to send his stick to the Hall of Fame:
“I have to use it next game. It’s a pretty good stick, actually. I’m pretty lucky with that stick.”
On the game vs. the Kings:
“Tonight I was probably more happy than the other nights. We were outplayed, we were outshot, we shouldn’t have been in the game, but Cory [Schneider] was excellent. He kept us in the game, especially the first period. We just couldn’t get our legs going. They’re a pretty tough team, they don’t give you anything for free. It was very tough for us. We probably should have lost 5-0, but sometimes that’s what it is. My dad always said when I said, ‘Hey dad, we lost the game, but we played good’ and my dad always said, ‘You’re not a figure skater, you don’t get points by looking good. You have to score a goal.’ So today we were lucky, but we’ll take it anyway.”
More on the overall game:
“We were outplayed the whole game. They were hanging, hanging. They’re a very good team and we played back-to-back, they were waiting for us. We played a tough team yesterday, so it’s not easy to battle the big guys the whole game yesterday and then the same thing [tonight]. They have a big, strong line-up. Their [top] line playing is tough and it’s going to be even tougher next game with Joe Thronton. It’s never ending. But on the other side, it’s a big challenge for us, especially for our line.”
On his penalty in overtime:
“With all respect to [Dustin] Brown, I’m not that strong. I grab him, I hold him a little bit, but I’m not the Terminator and he’s very strong. I think he acted a little bit. I’m not saying I didn’t hold him, but he made it look good too – if you ask him about it – because I’m not that strong. I wish I was that strong, maybe next month.”
On his overtime goal:
“I got a pass from behind, so I didn’t even see the goalie. I didn’t see the net. I just sent it towards the net. That’s a Datsyuk move – hold it, hold it, hold it, but he always puts it in the top shelf. I’m not that good. I squeezed it in. That’s the only way to have a chance, just out patient the goalie and put it in. But I didn’t really see the net, to be honest with you. It’s a big goal. Especially in overtime, you don’t see many goals like that in overtime. Especially against a good team like that.”
On tying Lemieux’s goal mark:
“I didn’t really have a chance to see Wayne [Gretzky] when he was doing the 200-point season in Edmonton. When I came in the league, I was playing with Mario, so he was the guy I was looking up to. I know he didn’t hold the record, but to me, I had a better chance to look to Mario because I could see him in practice, the way he plays. He was a huge influence on the game I played. I learned so many things from him. Not many people were lucky to play back then with the best playing in the world. I tell all the young kids, ‘When you have a chance to come in the league and play with the best player in the world, watch him because you can learn a lot.’ I was pretty lucky to see him at his best. I tied him and he played probably 600 less games than me. This is just a number. He didn’t play many games. If he had played as many games as me, he would have 2,500 points and probably 900 goals.”
On tying Howe’s record for most game winning goals:
“I have one to go. Mr. Hockey, he’s a right wing like I try to play right wing. He played till 50, so… I have nine years to go.”
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