Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals star, is on the verge of breaking the NHL career goals record currently held by Wayne Gretzky, which stands at 894 goals. Ovechkin has netted 873 goals throughout his illustrious career and requires just 22 more to surpass this long-standing mark. Starting this season, Ovechkin was 42 goals away from achieving this milestone that has often seemed unreachable. Now, at 39 years of age, he is in his 20th season in the NHL and was initially projected to reach 895 goals by February. Unfortunately, a shin-on-shin collision in November resulted in a broken left leg and forced him to miss 16 games, but he resumed his goal-hunting as the Capitals faced Toronto in their first match after the Christmas break.
In a recent game against the Nashville Predators, Ovechkin added to his tally by scoring an empty-net goal with just 58 seconds remaining in the third period, contributing to a 4-1 win on the road.
Ovechkin has already established several impressive records during his career. He leads the NHL in power-play goals and shots on goal. In addition, he has recorded 133 game-winning goals, needing only three more to surpass Jaromir Jagr’s all-time record of 135. He has scored against 178 different goaltenders, tying Jagr in this category, and boasts 177 multi-goal games, ranking just behind Gretzky’s record of 189 in that department. Earlier this season, Ovechkin also became the 60th player in NHL history to achieve 700 career assists, joining the ranks of legends such as Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jagr, Marcel Dionne, and Phil Esposito as one of the few players to amass both 700 goals and assists.
In terms of points, Ovechkin has reached remarkable heights, moving up the ladder of all-time NHL scorers. After surpassing notable players like Mike Gartner, Esposito, Dionne, Brett Hull, and Jagr, he achieved his 802nd goal on December 23, 2022, placing him second in the career goals leaderboard, only trailing behind Gretzky.
Wayne Gretzky, who set the career goals record after scoring his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, has held this title for decades. He accumulated a phenomenal total of 92 more goals before retiring in 1999, finishing his career with 1,487 games played over a span of 20 seasons. Gretzky’s impressive legacy includes 55 NHL records, and while he appears enthusiastic about Ovechkin potentially surpassing his goals total, two of his records—2,857 total points and 1,963 assists—are seen as exceedingly challenging to beat, as they exceed the combined totals of other players in terms of goals and assists.
