Alex Ovechkin’s chase of the all-time NHL goals record was put on hold Tuesday. The Washington Capitals forward is week to week after he sustained an injury to his lower leg in a 6-2 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Monday.
Ovechkin limped off of the ice after what appeared to be a knee-on-knee collision with Utah forward Jack McBain. However, the Capitals said the injury was to the lower leg not knee on Tuesday.
He took a brief skate during a TV timeout, but was in visible discomfort, and did not return for the remainder of the game.
This comes at a poor time for Ovechkin, who’s on fire to start the 2024-25 season with a League-leading 15 goals in 18 games. In his effort to chase down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record of 894, Ovechkin had two goals against Utah prior to getting hurt, and a hat trick in the game before that in a 5-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. Overall, Ovechkin now sits at 868 career goals, just 27 shy of breaking the all-time record.
The Great Eight also has 10 assists, earning him 25 points already on the season, good for 10th in the League.
At his current pace and depending on how long he plays, Ovechkin can surpass the 900-goal mark and set a new record that could remain untouched for decades.
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Alex Ovechkin is 27 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record
Last season, Ovechkin scored 31 goals and 65 points in what many considered a “down” year for the future Hall-of-Famer. Coming into this season, no one knew how much he had left in the tank, or if he would be able to crack Gretzky’s record before the season was up. At his current pace, he would have secured the all-time record around February, which would have been an incredible feat.
Unfortunately, the injury will push that date back. And who knows how the injury will affect him once he’s back in the lineup.
Ovechkin has scored 50 or more goals nine times in the NHL, including 50 in 2021-22 and an NHL career-high 65 in 2007-08.
At 39 years old, Ovechkin has continued to be remarkable when it comes to staying healthy. His 1,444 career games over 20 NHL seasons is a testament to that. Over the course of his career, Ovechkin has missed just 59 games, 35 due to injury, per Capitals Outsider.
So, we’ll have to wait a little longer than anticipated to see what will ultimately be one of the most historic goals in NHL history.