Even though he’s now 34 years old, Russian sniper Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is off to yet another excellent start with 13 goals in his first 18 games in the 2019/20 NHL campaign. It seems inevitable Ovechkin will reach the 30-goal mark for the 15th straight season since making his league debut back in 2005/06. He now has 671 career regular-season markers in 1102 games and is just 224 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all time scoring mark of 894.
Ovechkin appears to defy the odds year after year when fans expect him to eventually slow down and he’s on pace to score 59 time this season. His career-best is 65 goals which he reached in 2007/08 and he’s failed to reach the 40-goal plateau in just four of his 15 full seasons. One of these was the shortened 48-game campaign of 2012/13 when he still managed to score 32 times. Ovechkin has scored at least 50 goals in eight seasons and has also led the NHL in goals on a record eight occasions.
He won his eighth Rocket Richard Trophy last season for tallying 51 goals to move into first place all time after being tied with Hall of Famer Bobby Hull for leading the league in scoring seven times each. If Ovechkin can stay healthy and keep up his scoring pace he could possibly become the NHL’s greatest goal scorer. Gretzky leads the way with 894 while Gordie Howe ranks second at 801 with Jaromir Jagr coming in third at 766. He also needs to overtake the likes of Brett Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito and Mike Gartner who have 741, 731, 717 and 708 goals respectively.
One NHL record Ovechkin is bound to set in the next year or two is for career power-play goals. Dave Andreychuk currently holds the mark with 274 goals with the man advantage while Ovechkin has tallied 252 power-play goals with five of them coming this season so far. The Capitals’ winger is already in elite company for being the third-oldest NHL player to score 50 goals in a season as his output last year placed him behind Jaromir Jagr and Johnny Bucyk in that category.
Scoring goals has never been a problem for Washington’s captain as he notched 52 in his rookie season while also taking home the Calder Trophy in 2005/06 and making the NHL’s All-Rookie Team. He’s a sure-fire bet to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible as he’s a 12-time All-Star (8 First-Team, 4 Second-Team) who has won 17 individual awards during his NHL career along with a Stanley Cup. His silverware collection includes three Hart Trophies and eight Rocket Richard Awards.
Ovechkin’s greatest individual campaign came in 2007/08 by taking home the Hart, Richard, Art Ross, and Lady Byng Trophies when he racked up 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points. Ovechkin’s overall play is just as impressive as there’s no indication that he’s slowing down. And even though he plays a somewhat reckless, physical style of hockey, he’s remained relatively healthy throughout his career simply due to his incredible strength. He’s missed just 30 games since entering the league in 2005/06 and that’s one of the reasons he has a legitimate shot at toppling Gretzky’s career scoring mark.