The countdown for Alex Ovechkin has reached single digits.
The Washington Capitals winger scored No. 886 on Sunday in a win over the Seattle Kraken, putting him nine goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894.
With Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord pulled, Ovechkin backhanded the puck from the neutral zone 18:31 into the third period to put the Captials up 4-2 for their fourth straight win.
Counting this one as an empty-net trick shot pic.twitter.com/UjGZMxZtkw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
“What I’ve learned with ‘O’ is you never underestimate (him),” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said after the win. “Even when he’s off a little bit, and it doesn’t look great or his line is struggling or whatever it might be, it just takes one moment — just like the New York game, just like tonight — where we’re really struggling as a group, not speaking about him specifically, as a group … we win a hockey game and he’s got another goal, another one down, so you just can never underestimate what he’s capable of doing.”
Ovechkin now has 33 goals this season, seven in his last eight games and 11 in his last 14. With Sunday’s goal, he became just the 11th player in history to total 1,600 points.
That binge has drawn Ovechkin closer — in a hurry — to Gretzky’s regular-season career record. On Feb. 21, The Athletic placed his odds of passing Gretzky this season at 17.8 percent.
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How many goals does Alex Ovechkin have? Capitals great now 9 away from Wayne Gretzky’s record
Those odds are now up to 51.9, putting Ovechkin’s chase firmly back on the sport’s front burner, energizing crowds and infusing each of his shifts with palpable drama.
Washington, meanwhile, remains the top team in the Eastern Conference and continues to stack points in its chase for the Presidents’ Trophy. The Capitals are now tied with the Winnipeg Jets for a league-leading 92 points.
After Sunday’s empty-netter against the Kraken, Ovechkin — should he stay healthy — has 18 games remaining in the 2024-25 season to either catch or surpass Gretzky. Ovechkin reaching the mark more quickly than Gretzky is also in play; the former has played 1,474 games to the latter’s 1,487.
The most remarkable part of Ovechkin’s season may be that he missed 16 games in November and December after fracturing his left fibula. It was, perhaps, the most serious injury of Ovechkin’s remarkably durable career; he’s the only player in NHL history to score more than 30 goals in 19 seasons.
The Capitals’ next game is Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks. That starts a three-game West Coast swing that includes games against the L.A. Kings (on Tuesday) and the San Jose Sharks (next Saturday).
(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
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