Can/Will Ovie pass Gretzky in All Time Goals?

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Hat trick gives Capitals captain Ovechkin 800 career goals

 

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  Kristen ShiltonESPN NHL reporter

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the 800th goal of his career Tuesday night, becoming the third player in NHL history -- behind Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe -- to reach the milestone.

He also became the first to do it with a single franchise, and it came as part of a hat trick performance in a 7-3 victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago.

"This ... it's huge. It's huge for hockey, it's huge for the organization," a drained Ovechkin told his teammates in the locker room after the win. "And to do it with you guys, it's special."

The 37-year-old left winger tallied his historic marker in the third period of his 1,305th career game. It was also Ovechkin's 20th goal this season, giving him an 18th consecutive campaign with at least 20. Only Brendan Shanahan (19 straight) and Howe (22) have accomplished the same feat.

Tuesday also marked the 162nd multigoal game of Ovechkin's career, which trails only Gretzky's mark of 189 games. He picked up his first two of the night in the opening period.

"It's a special night. To get two goals right away, I could feel the game," Ovechkin said on ESPN's "SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt" after the game. "I'm really proud that it's over. Now, we can move on and focus on the next one."

The Blackhawks' faithful feted Ovechkin with a sea of caps after the hat trick, and after the game ended he was congratulated by Chicago stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews at center ice, a clear testament to what his accomplishment meant across hockey.

"The fans here did a really good job of taking a second and just honoring something," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "Because they're hockey fans, and what happened was a hockey moment. It wasn't about a win or a loss or Chicago against Washington. Somebody did something great and the hockey fans in Chicago noticed."

In the first period, Ovechkin scored the 136th game-opening goal of his career, breaking a tie with Jaromir Jagr in that category.

 

Howe became the first player to hit 800 goals on Feb. 29, 1980. He would stand alone there for 14 years until Gretzky grabbed his 800th on March 20, 1994. Ovechkin's next goal -- No. 801 -- will tie him with Howe for second-most in NHL history. Gretzky holds the record at 894 goals.

"I'm just trying to think about the next game, the next shift and not what's going to happen out there," Ovechkin said. "I'm just going to try to help the team win, and it doesn't matter how."

In his run to 800, Ovechkin went through a stretch of scoring four empty-net goals in three games to reach 53 empty-netters in his career. Only Gretzky has ever buried more (56).

Now in his 18th NHL season, Ovechkin has made a habit of racking up records. He has nine 50-goal seasons to his credit -- matching Gretzky and Mike Bossy -- and became the oldest player (at age 36) when he hit the 50-goal threshold in 2021-22.

His nine Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophies are the most earned by any skater, and Ovechkin is the only player to have won a Stanley Cup (in 2018), a Conn Smythe Trophy (as playoff MVP), a Calder Trophy (for rookie of the year), an Art Ross Trophy (for leading the league in points), a Hart Trophy (as league MVP), a Ted Lindsay Award (for most outstanding player as voted by the NHLPA) and a Rocket over the course of their career.

Ovechkin was drafted first overall by Washington in 2004 and showed an immediate scoring touch notching two goals in his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005. His best offensive campaign to date was 2007-08, when he became the 23rd player to score 65 goals in a season while finishing with 112 points.

The Capitals, slowly getting healthy after a sluggish start, have now won five in a row. They will host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

"As soon as it's over, we celebrate, we're happy," Ovechkin said, "and we move on."

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[Holymakinaw]

I wonder if he'll ever get to 801?

[NHL HHOF]

On 4/24/2022 at 7:40 PM, NHL HHOF said:

Gordie Howe and Chris Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin should do the same. Go for 27. We need someone with 1000 regular season goals in the NHL history books. Ovechkin can do it!

ALEX OVECHKIN

100th Goal in Season 3
200th Goal in Season 4
300th Goal in Season 6
400th Goal in Season 9
500th Goal in Season 11
600th Goal in Season 13
700th Goal in Season 15
800th Goal in Season 18
900th Goal in Season 20
1000th Goal in Season 22

 

[NHL HHOF]

Ovechkin holds the record for most goals with one NHL franchise. 800!

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Ovechkin 800

 

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/34769042/ovechkin-800

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[flyercanuck]

Wayne Gretzky: lost out on 1000 more goals by not being a goal suck.  

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[yave1964]

2 hours ago, NHL HHOF said:

 

Now only the great one to go. Long slow process, kinda like after Aaron got within 100 of Ruth or when ripkin got to 2000 games  and started closing in on Gehrig at 2130. To me baseball and hockey records are revered the other sports, hell I couldn't even tell you what the all time reception record or rushing touchdowns or sacks or any other major record. Baseball and hockey they are hallowed 

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Edited December 25, 2022 by NHL HHOF

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Ovechkin set to begin final step, new goal of breaking Gretzky's record

Capitals forward needs 93 to set NHL all-time mark

https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-set-to-begin-final-step-new-goal-of-breaking-wayne-gretzkys-record/c-339186864?tid=277548856

 

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin already knew what was next before Mark Howe stated it clearly at the conclusion of a video congratulating him for passing his late father, Gordie Howe, for second on the NHL all-time goals list.

"Now it's time to set new goals for No. 99," Howe said, speaking on behalf of the Howe family.

 

As much as the Washington Capitals forward scoring his 801st and 802nd NHL goals to tie and overtake Gordie Howe in a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday was the end of a journey toward history, it also was the beginning of another one toward No. 99, Wayne Gretzky, whose reign as the NHL record holder with 894 goals is officially on notice.

 

Ovechkin is approaching it with his usual caution, however.

 

"Step by step, guys," he said. "Still a long way."

 

"Step by step" has become Ovechkin's simple but appropriate mantra during his relentless climb toward a record he and many others used to believe never would be broken. The final step, which begins Tuesday when Ovechkin and the Capitals face the final team Gretzky played for, the New York Rangers, at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG 2, NBCSWA+, ESPN+, SN NOW), might prove to be the most difficult.

 

Although Ovechkin has been remarkably consistent and durable throughout his 18 NHL seasons, playing in 1,310 of a possible 1,357 regular-season games all with Washington, he is 37 years old. Eventually, Father Time will catch up with him like everyone else.

 

But it hasn't yet.

 

The left wing has scored 22 goals in the first 36 games of the season, putting him on pace to finish with 50. It would be his 10th 50-goal NHL season, breaking the League record he shares with Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He tied the Hall of Fame pair with 50 goals last season, becoming the oldest player in NHL history to hit the mark.

 

So Ovechkin scoring the 93 goals he needs to surpass Gretzky doesn't seem farfetched.

 

"When you see what Alex does on a daily basis, I think anything is possible," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "The way he plays, the way he scores, the way he shoots the puck, his love for the game, his passion and purpose for the game, anything is possible. It's going to take a lot, but I think they picked the right guy to try and knock it down."

 

Gretzky has held the record since scoring his 802nd goal against Vancouver Canucks goalie Kirk McLean on March 23, 1994, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Kings. He scored 92 additional goals during the next five seasons with the Kings, St. Louis Blues and Rangers before retiring in 1999.

 

According to NHL Stats, Ovechkin's 0.61 goals per game average this season matches his rate for the past 10 seasons. If it continues, he will need 153 regular-season games to get to 895 goals, putting him on schedule to pass Gretzky roughly halfway through the 2024-25 season.

 

"This was the greatest record ever," said Kings president Luc Robitaille, a Hockey Hall of Fame forward who is 13th in NHL history with 668 goals and assisted on Gretzky's 802nd.

 

"I don't think anybody thought it was going to be broken at that time. Just like I don't think anybody thought Wayne's record was going to get broken.  … But a few years ago I started looking at Alex and then you think, 'Well, if he doesn't get hurt, that's the one guy that could beat that one record, one of Wayne's 60-plus records.'"

 

Ron Francis is second in NHL history in assists with 1,249, but never was a threat to Gretzky's record of 1,963 before retiring in 2005. Francis, now general manager of the Seattle Kraken, didn't think back then that anyone would get close to Gretzky's goal record either, but the Hockey Hall of Fame forward noted that there was a similar view after Gordie Howe pushed it to 801 before retiring in 1980.

 

"There's always somebody that comes along," Francis said. "Like, nobody thought Wayne was coming and then Wayne comes. Certainly, Ovi has had an incredible career with the amount of goals he's been able to score. It seems like everybody knows where he's going to be, but you still can't stop him. So kudos to him for doing what he's doing, and he's got a real good chance of setting the record."

 

From watching Ovechkin when he was a longtime scout for the Detroit Red Wings to meeting with him three times during the past two months, Mark Howe doesn't perceive Ovechkin to be a player who would settle for finishing second. In fact Howe, himself a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman, said he told Ovechkin when they sat down together in Philadelphia in early December that he expects him to pass Gretzky too.

 

"I said, 'I'm counting on you to do it,'" Howe said. "If I was a betting man, I would bet he's going to catch Wayne."

 

Robitaille believes Ovechkin's chase of Gretzky's record will be "the greatest thing that could happen for the game."

 

"It makes fans aware," Robitaille said. "It's incredible. I think it's amazing what he's done, and I really believe he's going to do it."

 

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane doesn't think Ovechkin will stop at 895 goals, though, or even 900.

 

"I wouldn't be surprised if he does it for another four or five years, wouldn't be surprised if he got to 1,000, to be honest with you," Kane said. "He's had a tremendous career and he keeps getting it done."

 

Ovechkin's Capitals teammates have become used to him achieving some kind of milestone almost every game, but he has reached another level the past two weeks. He got to 800 goals with a hat trick against the Blackhawks on Dec. 13. Then, following a four-game drought, he tied and passed Gordie Howe against the Jets on Friday, netting 801 in the first period against David Rittich before reluctantly scoring an empty-net goal for 802 with 1:00 remaining in the game.

 

The ride figures to be even more exciting when Ovechkin closes in on Gretzky, potentially two years from now.

 

"He's done this so many times, it seems like maybe we're a little numb to just how historic, and I would almost say unthinkable, it is," Capitals defenseman John Carlson said earlier this month. "Seven or eight years ago nobody even talked about it, even though he was clearly on the same trajectory he is now. Then it went from, 'Maybe he can,' to 'Holy crap! This is coming.'"

Edited December 27, 2022 by NHL HHOF

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