Alexander Ovechkin’s quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record may have to wait another year.
The 39-year-old Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals in Monday’s 6-2 road win over the Utah Hockey Club but couldn’t finish the game. Late in the third period, Ovechkin suffered a leg injury after a knee-on-knee collision with Utah forward Jack McBain:
Per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Washington’s captain is “week to week” with a leg injury. The Capitals said that Ovechkin will seek further evaluation when they return to DC, via Whyno.
Alexander Ovechkin leads all NHLers with 15 goals on the season, two ahead of Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers) and Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers). “Ovie” sits at 868 career goals, and he was on pace to smash Gretzky’s record of 894 this season before suffering the injury.
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If he doesn’t miss too much time, “The Great Eight” could still break The Great One’s record this season. But if he misses multiple weeks, Ovechkin’s chances of setting the record before his 40th birthday next year will take a big hit.
The Caps have been one of the biggest surprises of 2024-25, jumping out to a superb 13-4-1 record this season. They return to the ice on Thursday to begin a homestand against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche.
Alexander Ovechkin Will Break The Record Eventually
Even if Ovechkin fails to surpass Gretzky’s record this year, there’s no question that he’ll do so by the early stages of next season. He hasn’t displayed any signs of slowing down, and the real question now is how many more goals he’ll finish with than Gretzky.
If Ovie didn’t score another goal this year, he’d need just 27 over the next two seasons to break Gretzky’s record. Of course, the future Hall of Famer has at least 20 more goals in him this season, so the record-breaking moment won’t have to wait much longer.
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