Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is closing in on being some of the achieved gamers in NHL historical past, and he took a notable step ahead with two objectives in opposition to the New York Rangers on Tuesday evening.
With the 2024-25 season now in progress, Ovechkin is on the verge of changing into the NHL’s all-time objectives chief. Ovechkin can go Wayne Gretzky’s mark (894) in the course of the 2024-25 common season. The Capitals standout at present has 857 profession objectives, so he would want to rack up simply 37 extra objectives this season to be able to high Gretzky’s league report.
The 2023-24 marketing campaign proved to be a mortal one for Ovechkin, who scored 31 objectives final season. Ovechkin’s 31 objectives was his lowest goal-scoring whole since he netted 32 objectives within the 2012-13 season. Ovechkin did have simply 24 objectives in 2020-21, however that season was shortened as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 objectives in the course of the 2022-23 season, and has tallied no less than 41 objectives in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
Ovechkin at present has tallied 1,557 factors (857 objectives, 700 assists) in his skilled profession. He did make much more historical past in 2023-24 when he registered an NHL report 18th 30-goal season as he handed Mike Gartner (17) for the honour.
Ovechkin scored his third and fourth objectives of the season in a 5-3 win in opposition to the Rangers on Oct. 29. That helped Ovechkin preserve the tempo he must catch Gretzky by the tip of the common season. Proper now, Ovechkin is on tempo for 41 objectives, which is precisely what he must tie The Nice One.
Ovechkin will doubtless proceed to be a longtime pressure on the Capitals’ high power-play unit, so there might be loads of goal-scoring alternatives. He’ll look to get off to a warmer begin than he did in 2023-24 when he recorded simply 5 objectives over the primary two months of the season.
CBS Sports activities will preserve monitor of Ovechkin’s objectives all through the 2024-25 season and preserve tabs on how shut he’s to eclipsing Gretzky’s all-time report.