Alex Ovechkin is on the verge of doing something no one ever imagined: surpassing Wayne Gretzky's record for most career goals in the NHL and becoming the NHL all-time scorer.
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Ovi begins his 20th season on Saturday, and in doing so, he begins what will be a potential campaign to remember as he inches closer and closer to The Great One's mark of 894 goals. The Washington Capitals star is just 41 away from tying him and 42 from becoming the best scorer the league has ever seen.
In today's game, 42 goals isn't an easy feat. After all, that's about a goal every other game. Last season, only seven players surpassed the 40-goal mark. Ovechkin only had 31, his lowest ever besides the COVID-shortened season. That being said, Ovi has scored 42-plus goals in 13 of 19 seasons, so this is undoubtedly a feat he can accomplish this season.
NHL fans will be in for a treat as Alex Ovechkin pursues the title of the NHL all-time scorer (Shutterstock)
It also doesn't hurt that the Capitals aren't expected to do much this season, with some predicting they'll be fighting off being the worst team in the Metropolitan Division. On that account, Ovechkin may as well just focus on himself and ripping as many shots as possible.
His head coach also seems more than acceptable in letting his best player fire away.
"For me, putting himself in good positions to get opportunities is the key," said Spencer Carbery to NHL.com. "And he has shown year after year, including last year, if he puts himself in enough positions to shoot the puck in a good spot, he gets around the net, he's spending time in the offensive zone, we're generating power plays, we're doing a good job on the power play of getting pucks on net, all the things we need to do, he will put the puck in the back of the net. "So if he's doing those things, which I expect he will, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he could score 42 goals at his age because of how talented of a scorer he is."
His scoring run since coming over from Russia is simply ridiculous. No player has more 50-goal (9x), 40-goal-(13x) or 30-goal (18x) seasons than he does. He also has the most powerplay goals ever and overtime goals.
He's just a machine. He's lit the lamp on 175 different goalies in his tenure, which just speaks to his longevity. If he scores on three more goalies for the first-time ever this season, he'd tie Jaromir Jagr for the most goalies scored against, for what it's worth.
So buckle up, it'll be a fun ride watching him chase down the title of the NHL all-time scorer.
Related: Alex Ovechkin Savagely Knocked Out Rookie with 1 Devastating Punch
