Ovechkin believes he can catch Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record
164 goals. That's all Alexander Ovechkin needs to tie Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goal scoring record. The Great 8 believes he can catch The Great One, and that was one of the reasons he penned a new five-year extension with the Washington Capitals earlier this week.
"Well, you never know," Ovechkin told Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic. "I'm gonna try my best. That's why I wanna play five more years. If (you) have a chance to catch The Great One, why not?" "If I'm gonna be second,» he added, «you know, it's a pretty good number as well."
The 35-year-old added that he's back to 100% and will be ready for training camp after missing several games late in the 2020-21 season with a lower-body injury.
"Last year was kind of a hard year, not just for me, but for everyone," Ovechkin said. "You don't know when the season is going to start, how we have to prepare our body for the season. Now we know when we have to be ready. I am going to be in a good shape when I come to the training camp."
Over the next five seasons, Ovechkin will need to average 32.8 goals per year in order to tie Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals. If Ovechkin stays healthy, then there's no doubt in anyone's mind, including his own that he can do it, and become the greatest goal scorer in National Hockey League history.
"If you have a chance to catch The Great One, why not?" - Alex Ovechkin on pursuing Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. #Caps https://t.co/nOQegKtJO1— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) July 29, 2021
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Patrick Kane | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Teuvo Teravainen | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marco Kasper | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lucas Raymond | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrew Copp | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Donato | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lars Eller | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Barrett Hayton | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Albert Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Schmaltz | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Turcotte | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Golden Knights | 41 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 59 | |
Capitals | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 59 | |
Jets | 43 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 59 | |
Wild | 42 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 56 | |
Maple Leafs | 43 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 56 | |
Hurricanes | 43 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 54 | |
Devils | 44 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 54 | |
Kings | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 53 | |
Stars | 40 | 26 | 13 | 1 | 53 | |
Oilers | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 53 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||