Alex Ovechkin has done it all in his NHL career – a Calder Trophy, three Hart Trophies, 11 All-Star appearances, seven Rocket Richards and a Stanley Cup. He has nothing left to prove, but that isn’t stopping him.

With Ovechkin playing what might be the best hockey of his career, TSN.ca takes a look at his remarkable season ahead of the Capitals matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.

Thanks to a recent hot streak – hot may be an understatement – Ovechkin has 29 goals and 14 assists through 32 games. He is in the midst of a 14-game point streak with 17 goals and six assists over that span. It’s the longest streak of his career and is tied with Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche for the second-longest in the league this season. According to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, Ovechkin is the seventh player aged 33 or older with a point streak of at least 14 games.

Last week against the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes, he recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games and has scored in each of his last six contests. Needless to say, he leads the league in goals by a wide margin while Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner sits second with 25.

 

2018-19 Goals Leaders

 
Rank Player Team Games Goals Assists Points
1 Alex Ovechkin WAS 32 29 14 43
2 Jeff Skinner BUF 35 25 12 37
3 Patrik Laine WPG 34 23 7 30
4 Gabriel Landeskog COL 34 22 19 41
5 Nathan MacKinnon COL 34 21 32 53
6 Mark Scheifele WPG 34 21 25 46
7 Brayden Point TB 35 21 23 44
8 David Pastrnak BOS 34 21 20 41
9 John Tavares TOR 34 21 15 36
10 Joe Pavelski SJS 35 21 7 28
11 Sean Monahan CGY 35 20 19 39
12 Connor McDavid EDM 34 19 30 49
13 Cam Atkinson CBJ 32 19 15 34
14 Timo Meier SJS 32 18 15 33
15 Elias Lindholm  CGY 35 17 20 37
 

 

His blistering start raises the question: Can Ovechkin become the first player since Brett Hull in 1991-92 to reach the elusive 50 goals in the first 50 games mark? He’s almost right on pace, averaging 0.91 goals per contest.

If he were to continue his current pace for the rest of the season, he would smash his career-high in goals (65 in 2007-08) and finish with an absurd 74. It would be just the 15th time in league history a player has reached the 70-goal mark, with all but one coming between 1980 and 1993 when scoring across the league was at its highest. Phil Esposito scored 76 for the Boston Bruins in 1970-71.

Ovechkin’s average ice time per game (21:08) is the highest it’s been since 2010-11, so it’s clear he’s getting opportunities and converting on them. Since the Caps have won five in a row and eight of their last 10, there’s no immediate reason for head coach Todd Reirden to change things up. With his next goal, Ovechkin will become the second NHLer to score at least 30 goals in each of his first 14 seasons in the league, joining Mike Gartner.

He’s in a class of his own in today’s NHL. Since debuting in 2005-06, his 636 goals are 210 more than Sidney Crosby’s distant second-place total of 426. But so many of today’s top goal scorers haven’t been in the league that long, so it’s not a fair comparison, right? Wrong. Over the last five seasons Ovechkin’s 214 goals dwarf Vladimir Tarasenko, who is second with 159.

Over the last three seasons? It’s still Ovechkin.

What he’s been able to do in his career is incredible. He’s 15th on the NHL all-time goals list with 636, but needs only 130 goals to catch Jaromir Jagr for third place all-time and is 165 shy of Gordie Howe in second.

After that, it’s only Wayne Gretzky at the top with 894. At his career scoring pace of .614 goals per game, he projects to pass Gretzky in 422 games. It’s a lot to ask, but it’s possible. Given how he’s playing these days, almost anything is.

 

NHL All-time Goals Leaders

Rank Player Goals Games
1 Wayne Gretzky 894 1,487
2 Gordie Howe 801 1,767
3 Jaromir Jagr 766 1,733
4 Brett Hull 741 1,269
5 Marcel Dionne 731 1,348
6 Phil Esposito 717 1,282
7 Mike Gartner 708 1,432
8 Mark Messier 694 1,756
9 Steve Yzerman 692 1,514
10 Mario Lemieux 690 915
11 Teemu Selanne 684 1,451
12 Luc Robitaille 668 1,431
13 Brendan Shanahan 656 1,524
14 Dave Andreychuk 640 1,639
15 Alex Ovechkin 636 1,035