There’s a very good chance history will be made before the end of the NHL season, history that not many saw coming when the initial record was set. On Friday night, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin officially tied Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals in the NHL throughout his career, with 894 in 1,486 games, one less than it took Gretzky to get his.
At this point, it’s a matter of when Ovechkin will break the record, not if. He clearly had some extra juice in his game with the knowledge that the record was right in front of him this season, and with six games remaining in the regular season, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he’ll break the record before the season is over. And if he doesn’t, it’ll make for one hell of a first goal of 2025-26.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t see Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean Leafs players aren’t keeping an eye on him.
“I watched the highlights, pretty cool,” said Scott Laughton following the team’s optional morning skate. “Everything that he’s done is really cool to see. Excitement overall in the game and throughout the league, it’s cool to see.”
Ovechkin scored two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks to give him his 40th and 41st goals on the season, respectively. Chris Tanev has been playing against Ovechkin longer than most player on the Maple Leafs, albeit not as often considering the two were in opposite conferences every year of Tanev’s career until this season.
“Yeah, pretty crazy watching an incredible player accomplish an incredible feat,” Tanev told reporters. “I think it was a great moment for hockey, you could see how excited everyone was.”
Tanev laughed off a question about how it feels to block his shots, instead noting the versatility of shots he’s got in his repertoire and how he’s been able to channel that into scoring goals.
“Obviously, he can shoot the puck, finds little holes and he’s extremely smart at getting into space and losing his checks,” Tanev continued. “Finding those pockets where he’s able to unload his release…he’s got a bunch of different types of shots, and they all score goals.”
Max Domi is no stranger to getting familiar with players around the league with his father Tie’s illustrious career wrapping up right around the time Ovechkin entered the league, echoing his teammates’ sentiments about Ovechkin being on the cusp of history.
“That’s a record that nobody really thought was going to be touched,” Domi said. “So, to do that and still be going strong, it’s pretty remarkable.”
Head coach Craig Berube spent six years as a player with the Capitals in the pre-Ovechkin days, so, naturally, he’s been keeping tabs on the race for 895.
“Yeah, it’s awesome. He’s obviously a great player and all that, but just, the way he went about it his whole career really has not changed,” Berube said of Ovechkin. “He’s a typical power forward who’s physical, he’s got size, strength, and he can shoot a puck in the net from anywhere.”
Berube caught the end of the game and said he wishes he could have seen him do it all that night.
“I mean, I was hoping he got that third one, he had couple of looks late. Great for the game, great for him and hockey, to see Wayne [Gretzky] there and supporting him as well was pretty cool.”
The Capitals are first in the Eastern Conference by a whopping 11 points, clearly basking in the hype of Ovechkin’s goal race all season long, and with the Maple Leafs tied for second in the conference with the Carolina Hurricanes, the potential for a playoff series between the two teams should they both advance is intriguing to think about, and would make for some cinematic hockey.
