Alex Ovechkin goals tracker: 'The Great Eight' is 6 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894
Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin is on the doorstep of an NHL scoring record that many thought was unbreakable.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record of 894. "The Great One" scored his final goal on March 29, 1999. "The Great Eight" could very well surpass that mark 26 years later.
Ovechkin entered the 2024-25 NHL season with 853 career NHL goals. He started the season off red-hot with 15 goals in 18 games. But after suffering a broken fibula in November, he missed five weeks. That time off didn't affect his goal-scoring prowess: He recorded four goals in his first five games back from injury.
On Tuesday, Ovechkin got one goal closer with the 889th of his career, lighting the lamp to tie the game late in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets. He is now six goals away from passing Gretzky with 11 games remaining in the regular season.
#ALLCAPS Alex Ovechkin scores goal #889He's on pace to pass Wayne Gretzky on the all-time list April 15 at the Islanders pic.twitter.com/Qo8Sa5ulzi
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 26, 2025
"It's just a matter of time, whether it's late this year, early next year, whenever," Gretzky told NHL.com earlier this season about Ovechkin's chances of breaking his record. "I mean, he's a great player. He's a great goal scorer."
As he approaches Gretzky's record, Ovechkin has partnered with Hockey Fights Cancer and the V Foundation for Cancer Research to launch "THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer." The campaign will see Ovechkin donate a dollar amount equal to his career NHL goal total for each goal he scores for the rest of his career. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Capitals, will match every donation.
Ovechkin will continue his chase for Gretzky's mark on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
We will track Ovechkin's race to 894 goals and beyond all season.
1. Wayne Gretzky (894)2. Alex Ovechkin (889)3. Gordie Howe (801)4. Jaromir Jagr (766)5. Brett Hull (741)6. Marcel Dionne (731)7. Phil Esposito (717)8. Mike Gartner (708)9. Mark Messier (694)10. Steve Yzerman (692)
Thu, Mar 27: at Minnesota, 8 p.m. ETSun, Mar 30: vs. Buffalo, 3 p.m. ETTue, Apr 1: at Boston, 7 p.m. ETWed, Apr 2: at Carolina, 7 p.m. ETFri, Apr 4: vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. ETSun, Apr 6: at Islanders, 12:30 p.m. ETThu, Apr 10: vs. Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ETSat, Apr 12: at Columbus, 7 p.m. ETSun, Apr 13: vs. Columbus, 6 p.m. ETTue, Apr 15: at Islanders, 8 p.m. ETThu, Apr 17: at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET
No. 1: Oct. 2, 2005 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Pascal Leclaire)
In honor of YOU the fans voting Alex Ovechkin the GREATEST goal scorer in NHL history we throw it back to his very FIRST goal in the NHL. October 5th, 2005. 🚨@Capitals | @ovi8 pic.twitter.com/c3qxLE5RoV
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) April 1, 2020
No. 50: April 13, 2006 vs. Atlanta Thrashers (Mike Dunham)
No. 100: Oct. 12, 2007 vs. New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist)
No. 200: Feb. 5, 2009 (Jonathan Quick)
No. 300: April 5, 2011 (James Reimer)
No. 400: Dec. 20, 2013 (empty net)
No. 500: Jan. 10, 2016 (Andrew Hammond)
Best part of Ovechkin's 500th is all his teammates immediately jumping onto the ice to mob him pic.twitter.com/bfZWmzy85y
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 11, 2016
No. 600: March 12, 2018 (Connor Hellebuyck)
No. 700: Feb. 22, 2020 (Mackenzie Blackwood)
No. 800: Dec. 13, 2022 (Petr Mrazek)
In case you missed it (you didn't)...here's how Alexander Ovechkin became just the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals. pic.twitter.com/o6512qWFmv
— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2022
2005-06: 12006-07: 12007-08: 32008-09: 32009-10: 12010-11: 12011-12: 02012-13: 22013-14: 12014-15: 02015-16: 22016-17: 22017-18: 32018-19: 32019-20: 42020-21: 02021-22: 12022-23: 22023-24: 02024-25: 2
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