Alex Ovechkin, the star forward for the Washington Capitals, is steadily approaching the NHL’s all-time goals record, which currently stands at 894 and belongs to the legendary Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has recorded 876 goals thus far, leaving him just 19 shy of surpassing Gretzky’s mark. As the season commenced, Ovechkin was 42 goals behind this record, which many viewed as nearly impossible to reach. The 39-year-old Russian ice hockey player is now in his 20th season in the NHL and was on track to achieve his goal by February if not for a significant injury from a shin-on-shin collision that resulted in a fractured left leg last November, forcing him to miss 16 games. Thankfully, Ovechkin returned to action in Toronto, marking the Capitals’ first game back after the Christmas break.
Ovechkin recently made headlines by scoring during a late power play in a thrilling 5-4 overtime defeat to Ottawa on Thursday evening.
In addition to his pursuit of the goals record, Ovechkin has already made his mark in the NHL by holding the records for the most power-play goals and shots on goal. He boasts 134 game-winning goals, just two shy of breaking Jaromir Jagr’s record of 135. Throughout his illustrious career, Ovechkin has scored against 179 different goaltenders, surpassing Jagr’s previous record by netting a goal against Leevi Merilainen of the Senators for his 874th career goal. Ovechkin has also tallied 177 multi-goal games, which places him second only to Gretzky, who has 189.
Earlier in the current season, Ovechkin achieved a significant milestone by becoming the 60th player in NHL history to accumulate 700 career assists. This accomplishment places him alongside hockey icons like Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jagr, Marcel Dionne, and Phil Esposito, as the only players with both 700 goals and 700 assists in their careers.
In the list of NHL’s leading scorers, Ovechkin has successfully moved ahead of great players such as Mike Gartner (708), Phil Esposito (717), Marcel Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741), and Jaromir Jagr (766). He netted his goal number 802 on December 23, 2022, positioning him solidly in second place behind Gretzky’s record.
Wayne Gretzky has held the record for career goals since March 23, 1994, when he scored his 802nd goal, surpassing Gordie Howe. Gretzky went on to add an additional 92 goals before retiring in 1999 after playing a total of 1,487 games over 20 seasons. He is the owner of 55 NHL records, and even if Ovechkin breaks the goals record, Gretzky remains excited about that possibility; however, two of his records appear almost unattainable: a staggering 2,857 total points and 1,963 assists, which surpasses the combined total of anyone else’s goals and assists.
If postseason goals are included, Gretzky still holds the record with 122 playoff goals, while Ovechkin has netted 72 in his playoff career. Additionally, Gretzky accumulated another 56 goals during his time in the World Hockey Association’s regular season and playoffs, while Ovechkin recorded 57 during his tenure in the KHL in Russia.
