Ovechkin has one last chance to break Gretzky's record in fewer games played
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Alexander Ovechkin is two goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky for the NHL career goals record and three away from breaking his record of 894.
On Friday, Ovechkin has the opportunity to break the record while playing in fewer games than Gretzky did.
Ovechkin has scored 892 goals in 1,485 career games while Gretzky finished his career with 894 in 1,487, but didn't score in the final eight games of his career. He hit the 894 mark in the 1,479th game of his career on March 29, 1999.
The Washington Capitals will take on the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Friday night and a hat-trick performance would secure the record for the Russian in his 1,486th career game.
Back on Dec. 13, 2022, Ovechkin scored a hat trick against the Blackhawks in a 7-3 Washington victory to reach 800 career goals. Now, he's eyeing a bigger milestone against the struggling franchise that has allowed the third-most goals against this season.
“I think everybody would love to have it on Friday night, him and us, for him to get that record,” Capitals centre Pierre-Luc Dubois told NHL.com. “So, we’re hoping for that.”
NHL All-Time Goals Leaders
| Rank | Player | Career Games Played | Career NHL Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | 1,487 | 894 |
| 2 | Alex Ovechkin | 1,485 | 892 |
| 3 | Gordie Howe | 1,767 | 801 |
| 4 | Jaromir Jagr | 1,733 | 766 |
| 5 | Brett Hull | 1,269 | 741 |
| 6 | Marcel Dionne | 1,348 | 731 |
| 7 | Phil Esposito | 1,282 | 717 |
| 8 | Mike Gartner | 1,432 | 708 |
| 9 | Mark Messier | 1,756 | 694 |
| 10 | Steve Yzerman | 1,514 | 692 |
Since returning from a fractured left fibula that cost him 16 games from Nov. 21 to Dec. 23, Ovechkin has had just four stretches where he didn’t score a goal for two games in a row and one three-game goal drought in early January.
He had seven goals in both February and March and six in January. He currently is on a three-game goal streak.
After a career-low 31 goals in 79 games last season, the odds of Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s record heading into the season were listed at +1000 on FanDuel. The number as of Thursday to break the record this season is at -480.
The 39-year-old winger is also one goal away from cracking 40 on the season for the 14th time in his career, an NHL record. He also owns the league record for most 30-goal seasons with 19 and is tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for most 50-goal seasons (nine).
Washington has seven games remaining the regular season against the Blackhawks, New York Islanders (two), Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets (two) before wrapping up the season on Apr. 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In his career, Ovechkin has scored 52 goals against the Hurricanes, 44 against the Islanders, 42 against the Penguins, 26 against the Blue Jackets and 15 against the Blackhawks.