NHLer drops eye-opening Alex Ovechkin remark as Capitals star creeps closer to breaking monumental Wayne Gretzky record

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Nov 19, 2024 17:47 GMT

Alex Ovechkin added another milestone to his legendary career during the Washington Capitals’ 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, November 17. Ovechkin scored a hattrick, bringing his career goal total to 866. He is now just 29 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894.

Ovechkin has been on a wild run this season, defying the expectations of most analysts in the League. People expected him to surpass Gretzky's record by the end of the season, as he was on 853 goals at the beginning of the 2024-25 NHL season. He needed 41 more goals to tie Gretzky's record and 42 to surpass Gretzky.

Now, 18 games into the 2024-25 season, Ovechkin has already scored 15 goals. With this pace, he will be breaking Gretzky's record in less than 50 games. However, there is one player in the league who believes Ovechkin would have already broken Gretzky’s record if not for COVID-19 interruptions and lockouts.

“I think he already would have broken it if it wasn’t for COVID and lockouts. I think Gretzky has enough records,” An unnamed NHL player told The Athletic about Ovechkin

Ovechkin is leading the NHL in goals this season with 15. He has scored 25 points this season which is impressive considering he is 39 years old.

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Alex Ovechkin talked to the media after scoring hattrick

Alex Ovechkin’s hattrick on Sunday was the 31st of his career. He scored in all three periods: a power-play goal in the first, another goal in the second, and an empty-net goal in the third.

Alex Ovechkin also extended his record for power-play goals to 315 and now has 176 multi-goal games, second only to Gretzky’s 189. Speaking to the media after the game, Ovechkin reflected on playing in Vegas, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

"Yeah, it's gonna stay forever. You know, memories that happens, what we have hereaback in ‘19. So yeah, it’s great." Ovechkin said per SK.

"It was a pretty cool atmosphere, like always,” Ovechkin said about the game. "We played hard. Right from the start, everybody did their job blocking shots."

Ovechkin's remarkable consistency keeps him on track to make history.

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Paul Bissonnette commented on Alex Ovechkin

On November 19, Paul Bissonnette commented on Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. Bissonnette shared his thoughts on X, calling Ovechkin’s pace madness.

"My goodness. Ovi watch has added a new twist. This is madness," Bissonnette tweeted.

"The man is possessed. Ovi is going to break the record before Christmas for Christ sake," Bissonnette added.

For now, Bissonnette remains awestruck by Ovechkin's pace.