Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has broken out of his early season slump and is back on track as he chases all-time goal leader Wayne Gretzky and tries to break a record once thought unbreakable.
Ovechkin scored for a sixth consecutive game on Tuesday, his first streak that long since the 2018-19 season and one off his career best in his 2005-06 rookie season. Saturday, he had broken Gretzky’s NHL record for empty-net goals.
Gretzky, who played from 1979-99, leads the way with 894 regular-season NHL goals. Ovechkin, 38, who passed Gordie Howe last season to move into second place, has 836 goals and needs 59 more for the record. He’s still slightly behind the pace but has two years left on his contract after this season.
Here’s where he stands in his chase of Gretzky’s goal record:
How many goals does Alex Ovechkin have this season?
Ovechkin needs to average 24 goals a season during his current contract to tie Gretzky’s record. With 14 goals in the Capitals’ 52 games, he is on pace for 22. His pace had been for 14 goals before his current run.
What did Alex Ovechkin do in the Capitals’ last game?
Feb. 13: He had a goal on three shots in a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He scored a power play goal on a one-timer from his office near the left faceoff circle.
How is Alex Ovechkin’s season going?
Much better now than before the All-Star break, when he uncharacteristically had several long goal droughts. Ovechkin had no shots on goal in consecutive games for the first time in his career and only two goals in his first 12 games. He scored three goals over his next three games before going through a career-worst 14-game drought. He went another three games without a goal before scoring in back-to-back games on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. He had no goals in the eight games surrounding a three-game injury absence.
But Ovechkin is now on a roll. He scored on Jan. 27 during the Capitals’ last game before the break and scored in the first five games after. He leads the Capitals in scoring with 37 points in 49 games.
When do Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals play next?
The Capitals’ next game is Feb. 17 at the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin has 38 goals in 57 career games vs. the Canadiens.
Who are the NHL’s top all-time goal scorers?
The top 20 NHL all-time goal scorers have all topped 600 goals. All are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, except Ovechkin and Jaromir Jagr, who has suited up this season in the Czech Republic.
1. Wayne Gretzky, 894 goals in 1,487 games
2. Alex Ovechkin, 836 goals in 1,396 games
3. Gordie Howe, 801 goals in 1,767 games
4. Jaromir Jagr, 766 goals in 1,733 games
5. Brett Hull, 741 goals in 1,269 games
6. Marcel Dionne, 731 in 1,348 games
7. Phil Esposito, 717 goals in 1,282 games
8. Mike Gartner, 708 goals in 1,432 games
9. Mark Messier, 694 goals in 1,756 games
10. Steve Yzerman, 692 goals in 1,514 games
11. Mario Lemieux, 690 goals in 915 games
12. Teemu Selanne, 684 goals in 1,451 games
13. Luc Robitaille, 668 goals in 1,431 games
14. Brendan Shanahan, 656 goals in 1,524 games
15. Dave Andreychuk, 640 goals in 1,639 games
16. Jarome Iginla, 625 goals in 1,554 games
17. Joe Sakic, 625 goals in 1,378 games
18. Bobby Hull, 610 goals in 1,063 games
19. Dino Ciccarelli, 608 goals in 1,232 games
20. Jari Kurri, 601 goals in 1,251 games
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Ovechkin Wayne Gretzky goal record chase: Where he stands
