Alex Ovechkin nears Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record
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Alex Ovechkin has seven games left this season to score three times and become the NHL's all-time goal scorer.
Why it matters: The current career record of 894, set by Wayne Gretzky, was one of those sports records that many thought could never be broken — and Ovie's on the verge of doing it at age 39.
Zoom in: Gretzky scored 80 goals after turning 35, per the Washington Post.
- On his 35th birthday in 2020, Ovechkin was still an incredible 189 goals away from the record.
He's been a model of consistency over his 20 seasons in D.C.
- The Russian winger has never scored fewer than 30 goals in a full non-pandemic or lockout season and, prior to this year, had missed just 35 total career games due to injury.
- He likely would've broken the record weeks ago had he not missed 16 games due to a broken fibula.
Stunning stat: Ovechkin is the first and only player to score 200+ goals in three different decades.
- By the numbers: That's 245 in the 2000s, 437 in the 2010s and 200 so far in the 2020s, per the NHL.
The latest: Ovechkin notched one goal against the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday night, bringing his total to 892. The Caps lost 5-1.
Between the lines: Hockey combines goals and assists into one stat called points. Ovechkin has always played an aggressive goal-scoring style — he's easily the NHL's career leader in shots on goal, with almost 1,800 more than Gretzky.
- So even if he passes Gretzky for career goals, Ovechkin will only be 11th all-time in points scored and more than 1,200 assists away from Gretzky's career record of 1,963.
What's next: The Capitals' next game is Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks at 7pm ET. If he can't get it done this year, Ovechkin still has one year remaining on his contract with the Caps and could return next season, when he'll be 40, to break the record.