Alex Ovechkin's teammates have gotten used to him passing hockey greats and reaching new milestones on a regular basis. The greatest of the great is yet to come. All eyes are on Ovechkin as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record of 894.
He is just 42 away from breaking a mark that long seemed untouchable, something that could happen as soon as this coming spring. The Washington Capitals captain will be atop another impressive list much sooner. Ovechkin has scored against 175 different goaltenders since making his debut in 2005.
Four more “victims” will put him ahead of Patrick Marleau and Jaromir Jagr for the most in league history. Many of the masked men Ovechkin has tormented over the years are in awe of what he can do on the ice and, in some cases, rooting for him to get to 895 goals and beyond. “It’s not going to be surprising,” said Pittsburgh's Alex Nedjelkovic, who allowed two goals to Ovechkin last season in his first two games facing him.
“I would not be surprised if he broke it this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke it by Christmas, to be honest with you, but that’s just the kind of goal scorer he is. I think it’s well within reach.
” Ovechkin has averaged 0.6 goals per game over his long career, a pace that would set him up to threaten the record by late March. He scored 31 last season after going on a second-half tear, so the 40-goal mark would require a return to younger form.
He just turned 39 and has already outpaced .