Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is already one of the most heralded players in NHL history. The legendary forward already has a ton of records on the NHL history books, but there's one more still to go that could put him in the pantheon of all-time greats.
Ovechkin is on the verge of becoming the NHL's all-time goals leader, and he can pass Wayne Gretzky's mark of 894 during the 2024-25 regular season. The Capitals standout currently has 868 career goals, so needs to rack up 27 more goals this season in order to top Gretzky's record.
The 2023-24 campaign proved to be a mortal one for Ovechkin, who scored 31 goals last season, his lowest total in a full-length season since he netted 32 goals in the 2012-13 season. Ovechkin did have just 24 goals in 2020-21, but that season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals during the 2022-23 season, and has tallied at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
Ovechkin currently has tallied 1,575 points (868 goals, 707 assists) in his professional career. He made even more history in 2023-24 when he registered an NHL record 18th 30-goal season, passing Mike Gartner's 17 for the honor.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin took another big jump toward Gretzky on Nov. 18 with two goals in a 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club. That came one day after a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. It was Ovechkin's first hat trick since Dec. 31, 2022. Monday's game against Utah also represented another milestone: His 100th career multi-goal road game, also most all-time.
However, Ovechkin did leave the ice early with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. He did not return.
At this season's pace, given health, Ovechkin would surpass "The Great One" before the end of the regular season. He's already scored a league-high 15 goals this season, and he's on pace for an incredible 68 this campaign, which would surpass his career high of 65 he netted in 2007-08, his third year in the league.
Ovechkin will likely continue to be an established force on the Capitals' top power-play unit, so there figures to be plenty of goal-scoring opportunities. He, obviously, has gotten off to a much hotter start than he did a year ago when he recorded just five goals over the first two months of the season.
CBS Sports will keep track of Ovechkin's goals throughout the season and keep tabs on how close he is to eclipsing Gretzky's all-time record.