Ovechkin sets a unique record, inches closer to another

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin is having one of the best seasons of his career, and now he has set another NHL record.

After scoring his 30th and 31st goals of the season, Ovechkin became the only player in NHL history to record sixteen 30-goal seasons with one team. On top of this, he also placed himself in second on the all-time list for most 30-goal seasons in a career, trailing only Mike Gartner who had 17.

Head coach Peter Laviolette had nothing but good things to say about the long-time fan favorite.

"It's quite an accomplishment by Ovi,'" Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "That's second most in the NHL, so that's a great accomplishment by him. It's different when you are coaching against him than when you're coaching with him. When you are coaching against him, you are constantly talking about how to keep him in check. Especially on the power play, the goal that he scored tonight, he's scored so many goals from that area. It's nice to have a weapon like that out on the ice at 5-on-5 and on the power play. The start to his year was excellent. He got off to a really good start and been in a little bit of a drought lately, but it's nice to see him get on the board tonight with a couple."

Ovechkin is still having a great time, and he is coming closer to breaking the all-time goals record trailing only Jaromir Jagr, Gordie Howe, and Wayne Gretzky. Ovi is up to 761 and needs just 134 more goals to break the record of 894.

"I guess I still have fun," Ovechkin said last month. "I think I still love the game. I'm enjoying being on the ice, off the ice, spending time with this group of guys. So, I think that's the most important thing."

nhl.com

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