Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has regained his touch and is ahead of the pace as he chases all-time goal leader Wayne Gretzky and tries to break a record once thought unbreakable.
Ovechkin had a run of eight goals in eight games after going through several long droughts before the All-Star break. He now has ended a stretch of two goals in 11 games by scoring three goals in his last two games. That allowed him to pass the 20-goal mark and push the Capitals into the second wild-card spot.
Gretzky, who played from 1979-99, leads the way with 894 regular-season NHL goals. Ovechkin, 38, who passed Gordie Howe last season to move into second place, has 843 goals and needs 52 more for the record. He has two years left on his contract after this season.
Here’s where he stands in his chase of Gretzky’s goal record:
How many goals does Alex Ovechkin have this season?
Ovechkin needs to average 24 goals a season during his current contract to tie Gretzky’s record. With 21 goals in the Capitals’ 67 games, he is on pace for about 26. His pace had been for 14 goals before the All-Star break.
How far is Alex Ovechkin behind Wayne Gretzky?
Ovechkin, with 843 career goals, needs 52 goals to break Gretzky’s record.
What did Alex Ovechkin do in the Capitals’ last game?
March 18: He scored two power-play goals on five shots in a 5-2 win against the Calgary Flames to give him 21 on the season. With the first goal, he tied Brendan Shanahan for second place in most consecutive 20-goal seasons (19). His second goal was the game-winner, moving Ovechkin (128) seven behind all-time leader Jaromir Jagr.
Ovechkin’s first goal was scored on a deflection. The second was scored from his office with a one-timer near the left face-off circle. Calgary’s Dustin Wolf is the 174th different goaltender that Ovechkin has scored against, which ranked third overall.
How is Alex Ovechkin’s season going?
Much better now than before the All-Star break, when he had an uncharacteristically slow start. Ovechkin had no shots on goal in consecutive games for the first time in his career and only two goals in his first 12 games. He scored three goals over his next three games before going through a career-worst 14-game drought. He went another three games without a goal before scoring in back-to-back games on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. He had no goals in the eight games surrounding a three-game injury absence.
Ovechkin then got on a roll. He scored on Jan. 27 during the Capitals’ last game before the All-Star break and scored in six of the first seven games after the break. But he was held to two goals over 11 games before three goals in his last two goals. He’s second on Capitals scoring with 52 points in 64 games and he has passed Mark Recchi for 14th in career points (1,537).
When does Alex Ovechkin play next?
The Capitals next play on March 20 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ovechkin has 42 goals in 57 career games vs. the Maple Leafs.
Who are the NHL’s top all-time goal scorers?
The top 20 NHL all-time goal scorers have all topped 600 goals. All are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, except Ovechkin and Jaromir Jagr, who has suited up this season in the Czech Republic.
1. Wayne Gretzky, 894 goals in 1,487 games
2. Alex Ovechkin, 843 goals in 1,411 games
3. Gordie Howe, 801 goals in 1,767 games
4. Jaromir Jagr, 766 goals in 1,733 games
5. Brett Hull, 741 goals in 1,269 games
6. Marcel Dionne, 731 in 1,348 games
7. Phil Esposito, 717 goals in 1,282 games
8. Mike Gartner, 708 goals in 1,432 games
9. Mark Messier, 694 goals in 1,756 games
10. Steve Yzerman, 692 goals in 1,514 games
11. Mario Lemieux, 690 goals in 915 games
12. Teemu Selanne, 684 goals in 1,451 games
13. Luc Robitaille, 668 goals in 1,431 games
14. Brendan Shanahan, 656 goals in 1,524 games
15. Dave Andreychuk, 640 goals in 1,639 games
16. Jarome Iginla, 625 goals in 1,554 games
17. Joe Sakic, 625 goals in 1,378 games
18. Bobby Hull, 610 goals in 1,063 games
19. Dino Ciccarelli, 608 goals in 1,232 games
20. Jari Kurri, 601 goals in 1,251 games
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Ovechkin Wayne Gretzky goal record chase: Where does he stand?
