Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is a celebrated figure in NHL history. This legendary forward has already secured his place in history, but he’s still pursuing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record.
Now, at 39 years old, Ovechkin is on the cusp of becoming the NHL’s all-time leading scorer. He could surpass Gretzky’s record of 894 goals before this season ends. The Capitals’ prominent player currently has 888 career goals after scoring his 35th goal of the season in the opening period of Washington’s 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
He now needs just seven more goals in Washington’s remaining 13 games to overtake Gretzky’s record this season.
Ovechkin currently boasts 1,607 total points in his career (888 goals, 719 assists). On March 9th, Ovechkin became the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points.
The 2023-24 season was less productive for Ovechkin, as he scored 31 goals, his lowest total in a full NHL season. He did have 24 goals in the 2020-21 season, but that season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals in the 2022-23 season and has achieved at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
In 2023-24, he set an NHL record with his 18th 30-goal season, surpassing Mike Gartner’s 17. He has now reached this milestone 19 times in his career.
Ovechkin remains a key player on the Capitals’ top power-play unit, providing him with consistent goal-scoring opportunities. He has been scoring at a significantly higher rate compared to last year, when he only scored five goals in the first two months of the season.
Keep following Ovechkin’s goal count throughout the season to see how close he gets to breaking Gretzky’s all-time record.
