Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is already one of the most famous players in the world Story. The legendary striker already has a lot of records to his name history books, but there is one more that could put him in the pantheon of all-time greats.
Ovechkin is on the verge of becoming that He is the all-time leading scorer and can surpass Wayne Gretzky's mark of 894 in the 2024-25 regular season. The Capitals star currently has 868 career goals, so he needs to score 27 more goals this season to surpass Gretzky's record.
The 2023-24 season proved fatal for Ovechkin as he scored 31 goals last season, his lowest point total in a full season since he scored 32 goals in the 2012-13 season. Although Ovechkin only scored 24 goals in the 2020-21 season, that season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals in the 2022-23 season and has scored at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 seasons Seasons.
Ovechkin currently has 1,575 points (868 goals, 707 assists) in his professional career. He made even more history in 2023/24 when he registered one Season record 18 goals with 30 goals, overtaking Mike Gartner's 17 goals.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin took another big leap toward Gretzky on Nov. 18 with two goals in a 6-2 win over Gretzky Utah Hockey Club. This came a day after a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. It was Ovechkin's first hat trick since Dec. 31, 2022. Monday's game against Utah also marked another milestone: his 100th career multi-goal game, also the most of all time.
However, Ovechkin left the ice early It appeared to be a lower body injury. He didn't return.
At the rate this season is going, Ovechkin, if healthy, would surpass “The Great One” before the end of the regular season. He has already scored a league-best 15 goals this season and is on track to score an incredible 68 goals this season. That would surpass his career-high of 65 goals, which he scored in 2007-08, his third year in the league.
Ovechkin will likely continue to be an established force on the Capitals' top power play unit, so scoring opportunities should be plentiful. He's obviously off to a much better start than he was a year ago when he only scored five goals in the first two months of the season.
CBS Sports will keep an eye on Ovechkin's goals throughout the season and keep an eye on how close he is to surpassing Gretzky's record.
