In the article “Ovechkin’s top 10 NHL records” we will talk about the ten records already achieved by the Russian hockey player in the NHL, and as always, we will discuss the areas of growth.
Russian Alexander Ovechkin is one of the biggest stars in the history of the National Hockey League, and in the new season, the Washington forward can get even closer to the title of the NHL’s greatest player.
For the 38-year-old hockey player, the new campaign in the National Hockey League could be one of the last in his career, and that’s why every game played on the court for Ovechkin is especially important. Moreover, Alexander has a big personal goal – the historical record for the number of goals scored in the NHL, currently held by the legendary Canadian Wayne Gretzky.
The career-ending Gretzky has 894 pucks, while Ovechkin had 822 shots on goal before the start of the new season. And that’s a difference the Russian star hockey player would really like to make up in the next two seasons, in which he’s still going to play at the top level.
The chances of the Russian player breaking Gretzky’s record are, as they say, “working”. The probability of such a scenario is estimated by leading sports analysts at 59%. And that’s a pretty good indicator, setting up for optimism.
But no matter how Ovechkin’s epic quest to break Gretzky’s record ends, we shouldn’t forget about his other historic accomplishments in the National Hockey League. That’s what we’ll talk about in our article.
Record for the number of “away” pucks
Ovechkin is playing well in front of the home crowd. The Russian has already managed to score 418 pucks on the road, while Gretzky has 402 shots.
Record for the most debut pucks
The Russian hockey player has opened the scoring in games more often than anyone else in the history of the NHL – 140 times. Ovechkin’s closest pursuer on this achievement – Czech Jaromir Jagr, in fact is no longer a pursuer, because he long ago finished his career with 135 first pucks in NHL games.
Record for goals for one team
Alexander is not only one of the top stars in the NHL, but also one of the most loyal players in history. The Russian dedicated his career in the overseas league to Washington, and as part of this franchise Ovechkin “scored” all of his 822 pucks at the start of the 2023-2024 season. The previous record holder, Gordie Howe, had 786 such pucks.
Record for pucks in overtimes
Ovechkin is a big fan of deciding the outcome of hockey battles in overtime. The Russian star hockey player has already scored 25 times in overtime, which is five more shots than the nearest pursuer among current players – Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh.
Best among compatriots
It is not hard to guess from the above statistical information that it is Ovechkin who holds the record for the number of goals and points scored in the NHL among all Russians who have ever played in the league. In particular, if we talk about points, then now Alexander has 1485 of them in the system “goal + pass”, and the nearest pursuer of current players – Evgeni Malkin, only 1229. An abyss, not a difference!
Record for seasons with 40+ goals
Ovechkin has already had 13 regular seasons in which he has scored at least 40 goals in his career. Gretzky’s countdown of such campaigns stopped at the 12-season mark. When it comes to the 50+ pucks, the Russian still has some work to do. He now has 9 such seasons and shares the record with Gretzky and Mike Bossy, but only Ovechkin has a chance to improve.
Record for goals scored in the most
“Washington” knows how to realize the majority on the ice, and Ovechkin for the Capitals has become the main weapon in this aspect of the game. Alexander already has 299 pucks scored on the power play. The previous record holder, Dave Andreychuk, is hopelessly behind with 274 pucks.
Record for the number of “Maurice Richard Trophy” won
Ovechkin has won the award for best sniper of the season, which has been around since the 1998/99 campaign, nine times in his career. That is, in almost every third season when it was awarded under that name. Other hockey players have won the award no more than twice.
Record for most shots on goal
Ovechkin throws a lot of shots on other people’s goals, and at the start of the season the Russian held the NHL record for this indicator with 6,355 shots. Of course, with each new game this number increased, but the main thing is that the previous record has already been broken – it belonged to Ray Burke with 6,209 shots.
“Collection” of club records
It’s no surprise that Ovechkin, who spent so many seasons in Washington, holds many club records in a variety of metrics. Clearly, among them are records for pucks scored and points scored in the goal+pass system, but beyond those achievements, Alexander is at the top of the list for the following statistics:
- Number of games (1,350)
- Number of seasons played (now going on the 19th)
- Number of game-winning pucks (124)
- Number of pucks in his debut season (52)
This list could go on for a long time, but one thing is clear – Ovechkin has definitely put his name in the history of the club, and the league as a whole, for many years to come, although Alexander still has some work to do here to achieve the status of a major legend.
In addition to Wayne Gretzky’s aforementioned record for goals scored, there are a few other attractive accomplishments that Ovi can swing at. This is the record for the number of game-winning pucks in the history of the entire NHL (the Russian now has 124, while record holder Jaromir Jagr has 135). It’s also a record for the number of effective “doubles” (Ovechkin has 167, while record holder Gretzky has 189), as well as for empty net goals (54 for Alexander versus 56 for Gretzky).
But still, the main goal remains Gretzky’s cherished 1,487 pucks, before the best hockey player in Russian history overtakes him, there is still a lot of hard work to be done. And it will definitely stretch for at least two seasons, because age takes its toll even on such outstanding professionals as Alexander Ovechkin.
