Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin netted the 802nd goal of his career on Friday, surpassing Gordie Howe for sole possession of second-place on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
Ovechkin’s 802nd came in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets, when he potted an empty netter to secure the 4-1 victory over the Jets. This was his second goal of the game, after scoring his 801st at the end of the first period.
Howe finished a 1,767-game career with that total, one Ovechkin has managed to pass that 1,310 Howe was 52 years old when he scored his 801st in the NHL, though he did play six years in the World Hockey Association
At the time of Howe’s retirement in 1980, he held the record as the NHL’s all-time goals leader — until Wayne Gretzky scored his 802nd NHL goal with the Los Angeles Kings in 1994.
Ovechkin now trails only Gretzky, who tops the NHL’s all-time leaderboard with 894 goals.
“It’s not even a question that he will pass me, and I think it’s great,” Gretzky told David Waldstein of The New York Times last year. “There is no doubt that, ultimately, he will break the record.”
Ovechkin joined Gretzky and Howe as part of the 800-goal club with a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
The Russian forward passed Jaromir Jagr for third all-time last season during a turbulent stretch for the longtime Capitals captain, who faced criticism amid his home country’s invasion of Ukraine ordered by Vladimir Putin, a president he has supported at times in his career.
The 37-year-old took little time to settle into the NHL, scoring 52 goals in his rookie campaign back in 2005-06.
Ovechkin’s lowest total in his first five seasons was 46 goals. He also recorded the highest single-season mark of his career in that span, scoring 65 goals in a Hart Trophy-worthy campaign.
Last season, Ovechkin joined Gretzky and Mike Bossy as the only players to record nine 50-goal seasons. Ovechkin is currently in his 18th NHL season, three of which have been shortened by the NHL lockout or the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin has 22 goals in 36 games so far in 2022-23.
Among active skaters, he’s heads above the rest. The next highest-scoring player is longtime rival Sidney Crosby with 536.
As far as team success goes, Ovechkin won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
