With his 895th career goal today against the New York Islanders, Alex Ovechkin has surpassed Wayne Gretzky and is now the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer. It was Ovechkin’s first goal against Islanders star goalie Ilya Sorokin, coming on Ovechkin’s first shot of Washington’s first power-play. In classic fashion, he beat Sorokin with a hard wrist-shot from the tops of the circles.
So ends ’The Gr8 Chase,’ a storyline most thought would never come to fruition after Gretzky retired 26 years ago. Many of his records are still considered and will likely stand as unbreakable. Still, Ovechkin’s excellence as a pure goal-scorer has him passing The Great One for one of the league’s most prestigious stat-based records.
While Ovechkin’s chances of breaking the record truly became realistic a couple of years ago after a resurgent 50-goal campaign in 2021-22, it’s his performance this season that will stand out. Now 39 years old, Ovechkin’s scoring goals at his highest rate per game this season since 2019-20. He’s managed to do so despite missing over a month with a fractured left fibula earlier in the year – by far the most extended injury-related absence of his incredibly durable 20-year career.
Of course, his success has done more than serve as a nice story for Washington this season. He’s helped the Caps’ team offense along to a league-best 3.60 goals per game, positioning them to finish atop the Eastern Conference after barely squeaking into the postseason picture last year with the league’s 28th-ranked offense.
Ovechkin’s career resume needs no introduction. He holds the record for most 30-goal (19) and 40-goal (13) seasons and is tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy with nine 50-goal campaigns, a record his injury will prevent him from taking outright. He’s won the Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal-scorer nine times and the Hart Trophy on three occasions. The 12-time All-Star won his only Stanley Cup championship (to date) with Washington in 2018 and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after scoring a league-leading 15 goals in 24 games.
The all-time goals record is now the fourth offensive record Ovechkin holds. He’s also the all-time leader in power-play goals (323), game-winning goals (135), and shots on goal (6,844). It’s also not the only notable Gretzky record to fall this season. Penguins captain and longtime rival Sidney Crosby has clinched a 20th straight point-per-game season in 2024-25, breaking Gretzky’s record of 19.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.