Countdown to 894: The Alex Ovechkin goal-scoring tracker
After breaking the 800-goal barrier during the 2022-23 season, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin now has his sights set on breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record of 894.
Ovechkin began the 2024-25 season with 853 goals and now has 881. The excitement around the chase has led to Ovi becoming one of the NHL's most popular bets.
The date when Ovi eclipses Gretzky depends on his goal-scoring pace, which is now a bit complicated as Ovi missed five weeks with a broken fibula. He made his return on Dec. 28 against the Maple Leafs.
Follow along here as we chronicle each subsequent goal Ovechkin scores this season, including goal highlights, the upcoming Capitals schedule and how to watch.
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The NHL's top 10 in career goals1. Wayne Gretzky (894) 2. Alex Ovechkin (881) 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)
Ovechkin first found the net nearly halfway through the second period against the Edmonton Oilers. About ten minutes later, he did it again, concluding a Washington power play with a goal. Ovechkin now has 33 multi-goal games since turning 35 years old, tying Johnny Bucyk for the third most by a player at age 35 or older in NHL history, according to ESPN Research.
No. 879: Feb. 6 vs. PHIDown 1-0 in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin evened the score in the final minute with a one-timer.
No. 878: Feb. 4 vs. FLAEvery second counts. Ovechkin netted his 878th goal with just 0.1 seconds left, slotting the puck in an empty net against the Florida Panthers.
No. 877: Feb. 1 vs. WPGOvechkin tied the game with under eight minutes left in the third period with his 877th goal. The Caps would lose in overtime in a matchup of two of the NHL's top teams.
No. 876: Jan. 30 vs. OTTOvechkin scored against the Ottawa Senators exactly two weeks in ago in their Jan. 16 matchup and did it again with a power play finish in the third period against Ottawa. It marked Ovechkin's NHL-record 318th career power play goal.
No. 875: Jan. 23 vs. SEAOvi added another empty-net tally to his career total to put the finishing touches on this victory for the Caps, assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Jakob Chychrun.
No. 874: Jan. 16 vs. OTTOvechkin locked in one record with his 874th goal. He broke the mark for the most goaltenders scored on after slotting one past Ottawa's Leevi Merilainen for a game-winning overtime goal.
No. 873: Jan. 11 vs. NSHOvechkin put the finishing touches on a the Caps' 4-1 win over the Predators by way of an empty-net goal.
No. 872: Jan. 4 vs. NYRThe Capitals wound up scoring seven on the reeling Rangers, and Ovechkin's 19th of the season made it 5-3 in the third period, assisted by Dylan Strome.
No. 871: Jan. 2 vs. MINAlthough the Capitals lost in a shootout to the Wild, Ovechkin added to his career total via a second-period, power-play goal, assisted by Dylan Strome.
No. 870: Dec. 29 vs. DETOvechkin is making up for time lost during his injury absence, scoring his second goal in as many games since returning. His 17th of the season was assisted by Jakob Chychrun and Connor McMichael.
No. 869: Dec. 28 vs. TORIn his first game back following a five-week stint on injured reserve, Ovechkin notched an empty-net goal to seal the deal against the Maple Leafs. The goal was assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
No. 868, 867: Nov. 18 vs. UTAA day after his hat trick against Vegas, Ovechkin scored two more against the Hockey Club -- and might've had another if he wasn't knocked out of the game following a collision with Jack McBain. Goal No. 867 was assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois, while No. 868 was on the power play, and assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
No. 866, 865, 864: Nov. 17 vs. VGKBack in 2018, Ovechkin and the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in Vegas. There was less at stake in this game, but Ovi came through with a hat trick in the Caps' 5-2 win: a first-period, power-play tally (assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome), a second-period score assisted by Matt Roy, and an empty-net goal to cap it off (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Martin Fehervary).
No. 863, 862: Nov. 9, 2024 vs. STLDid you seriously think that an 8-1 win for the Capitals would not include any goals from Ovechkin? Ovi scored in the second period (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome) to make it 2-1, then added a power-play tally in the third (assisted by Strome and Tom Wilson) to make it 4-1.
No. 861: Nov. 6, 2024 vs. NSHOvechkin scored his eighth goal of the season at 10:25 of the third period on assists from Dylan Strome and Martin Fehervary.
No. 860: Nov. 3, 2024 vs. CARThough the Capitals lost, 4-2, Ovi notched a first-period, power-play tally, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
No. 859: Nov. 2, 2024 vs. CBJOvechkin was one of six different Capitals to score in the team's route of the BJs, and his goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.
No. 858: Oct. 31, 2024 vs. MTLA 6-3 Capitals win with an Ovechkin goal as the capper? The fans went home happy from this one. Assists on this goal were from Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.
No. 857, 856: Oct. 29, 2024 vs. NYRA raucous, 5-3 win for the Capitals included two first-period tallies from Ovi, both assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.
No. 855: Oct. 23, 2024 vs. PHIOvechkin has a knack for empty-net goals, and added to his career total in that category to cap off a win against Philly, with an assist from Dylan Strome.
No. 854: Oct. 19, 2024 vs. NJIt took to the fourth game of the Capitals' season for Ovechkin to get his first marker of the campaign, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
Upcoming scheduleNote: All games available to ESPN+ subscribers at no extra charge as part of NHL Power Play on ESPN+, unless otherwise noted. Blackout restrictions apply.
Tue, Feb 25: vs. Calgary, 7:00
Thu, Feb 27: vs. St. Louis, 7:00
Sat, Mar 1: vs. Tampa Bay, 12:30
Mon, Mar 3: vs. Ottawa, 6:30
Wed, Mar 5: at Rangers, 7:30 (TNT/truTV/Max)
Fri, Mar 7: vs. Detroit, 7:00
Sun, Mar 9: vs. Seattle, 3:30
Tue, Mar 11: at Anaheim, 10:00
Thu, Mar 13: at Los Angeles, 10:30
Sat, Mar 15: at San Jose, 5:00
Tue, Mar 18: vs. Detroit, 7:00
Thu, Mar 20: vs. Philadelphia, 7:00
Sat, Mar 22: vs. Florida, 5:00
Tue, Mar 25: at Winnipeg, 8:00
Thu, Mar 27: at Minnesota, 8:00
Sun, Mar 30: vs. Buffalo, 3:00
Tue, Apr 1: at Boston, 7:00
Wed, Apr 2: at Carolina, 7:00
Fri, Apr 4: vs. Chicago, 7:00
Sun, Apr 6: at Islanders, 12:30 (TNT/truTV/Max
Thu, Apr 10: vs. Carolina, 7:30
Sat, Apr 12: at Columbus, 7:00
Sun, Apr 13: vs. Columbus, 6:00
Tue, Apr 15: at Islanders, 8:00 (ESPN)
Thu, Apr 17: at Pittsburgh, 7:00 (ESPN)
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