Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin is on the doorstep of an NHL record that many thought was unbreakable.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record of 894. “The Great One” scored his final goal on March 29, 1999. “The Great Eight” could very well surpass that mark before the end of the 2024-25 season.
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Ovechkin entered this season with 853 career NHL goals and started off red hot with 15 goals in his first 18 games. A broken fibula in November took him out of the lineup for almost five weeks, but when he returned to the Capitals he didn’t miss a beat with four goals in his first five games back from injury.
Ovechkin’s latest goal, No. 890 of his career, came against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. He scored in front of the goal to cut Buffalo’s lead to 6-4 midway through the third period. Buffalo went on to an 8-5 win.
He’s now four goals away from tying Gretzky and five goals from breaking the record. The Capitals have nine games remaining on their schedule after Sunday.
“It’s just a matter of time, whether it’s late this year, early next year, whenever,” Gretzky told NHL.com earlier this season about Ovechkin’s chances of breaking his record. “I mean, he’s a great player. He’s a great goal scorer.”
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As he moves closer to breaking Gretzky’s record, Ovechkin has partnered with Hockey Fights Cancer and the V Foundation for Cancer Research to launch “THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer.” The campaign will see Ovechkin donate a dollar amount equal to his career NHL goal total for each goal he scores for the rest of his career. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Capitals, will match every donation.
Ovechkin continues his chase for Gretzky’s mark on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins.
We will track Ovechkin’s race to 894 goals and beyond all season.
NHL top-10 in career goals
1. Wayne Gretzky (894)
2. Alex Ovechkin (890)
3. Gordie Howe (801)
4. Jaromir Jagr (766)
5. Brett Hull (741)
6. Marcel Dionne (731)
7. Phil Esposito (717)
8. Mike Gartner (708)
9. Mark Messier (694)
10. Steve Yzerman (692)
Ovechkin in 2005. (Joel Richardson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Remaining 2024-25 regular-season games
Tue, Apr 1: at Boston, 7 p.m. ET
Wed, Apr 2: at Carolina, 7 p.m. ET
Fri, Apr 4: vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. ET
Sun, Apr 6: at Islanders, 12:30 p.m. ET
Thu, Apr 10: vs. Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sat, Apr 12: at Columbus, 7 p.m. ET
Sun, Apr 13: vs. Columbus, 6 p.m. ET
Tue, Apr 15: at Islanders, 8 p.m. ET
Thu, Apr 17: at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET
Alex Ovechkin has scored on 180 different goaltenders since entering the NHL in 2005. (Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Jamie Sabau via Getty Images)
Ovechkin milestone goal timeline
No. 1: Oct. 2, 2005 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Pascal Leclaire)
No. 50: April 13, 2006 vs. Atlanta Thrashers (Mike Dunham)
No. 100: Oct. 12, 2007 vs. New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist)
No. 200: Feb. 5, 2009 (Jonathan Quick)
No. 300: April 5, 2011 (James Reimer)
No. 400: Dec. 20, 2013 (empty net)
No. 500: Jan. 10, 2016 (Andrew Hammond)
No. 600: March 12, 2018 (Connor Hellebuyck)
No. 700: Feb. 22, 2020 (Mackenzie Blackwood)
No. 800: Dec. 13, 2022 (Petr Mrazek)
Hat tricks by season (32 career)
2005-06: 1
2006-07: 1
2007-08: 3
2008-09: 3
2009-10: 1
2010-11: 1
2011-12: 0
2012-13: 2
2013-14: 1
2014-15: 0
2015-16: 2
2016-17: 2
2017-18: 3
2018-19: 3
2019-20: 4
2020-21: 0
2021-22: 1
2022-23: 2
2023-24: 0
2024-25: 2
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