Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is on the verge of eclipsing the NHL’s all-time goal record, which stands at 894 and was set by the legendary Wayne Gretzky.
Ovechkin currently has 868 career goals, having netted 15 in the first 18 games of the current season. To break the record, he requires just 27 more goals.
At the beginning of the season, he was 42 goals away from this milestone, a feat once considered nearly impossible to reach. The seasoned 39-year-old Russian forward is playing in his 20th season in the NHL. Before suffering a left leg injury due to a shin-on-shin collision in November, he was projected to reach the 895 goal mark by February. Ovechkin can continue his pursuit as early as Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, marking the Capitals’ return from the Christmas break.
In his last outing, Ovechkin showcased his skill by scoring twice during a 6-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club on November 18, tallying his 867th and 868th goals in his first game in Salt Lake City, before exiting in the third period due to an injury.
As for his next appearances, Ovechkin is on track to take the ice against the Maple Leafs, where he has historically performed well, scoring 44 goals against them, ranking fifth among all opponents he has faced throughout his career. If he does not play in Toronto, the Capitals will face the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday and will host the Boston Bruins in a New Year’s Eve afternoon matchup.
Ovechkin boasts impressive statistics, having secured the NHL record for power-play goals at 316 and leading in shots on goal with 6,690 attempts.
With 132 game-winning goals, he is only four shy of surpassing Jaromir Jagr’s record of 135. He has found the back of the net against 178 different goaltenders, tying him with Jagr in that category.
Furthermore, Ovechkin has tallied 177 multi-goal games, sitting just behind Gretzky, who has 189.
Earlier this season, he became the 60th player to achieve 700 career assists and has since increased his total to 707. This achievement places him alongside legends like Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jagr, Marcel Dionne, and Phil Esposito as one of the few players to amass both 700 goals and 700 assists in their career.
In terms of the league’s scoring leaders, Ovechkin surpassed notable figures such as Mike Gartner (708), Esposito (717), Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741), and Jagr (766) before scoring his 802nd goal on December 23, 2022, solidifying his position in second place for all-time goals, just behind Gretzky’s 894.
Wayne Gretzky has held the career goals record since he scored his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, surpassing Gordie Howe. He went on to score an additional 92 goals before retiring in 1999, concluding his illustrious career with 1,487 games played over two decades. In contrast, Ovechkin has participated in 1,444 games to this point in his career.
While Gretzky holds a remarkable 55 NHL records, some appear to be unbreakable—even if Ovechkin were to topple the goals record. Gretzky’s total of 2,857 points and 1,963 assists surpasses any combined goals and assists total in NHL history, leaving those benchmarks seemingly insurmountable.
