Well I have to admit… I didn’t see this coming. Alexander Ovechkin is set to become the National Hockey League’s greatest goal scorer of all time. At the time of this writing, The Great 8 sits at 888 career NHL goals. The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, scored 894 goals in his NHL career. This was a record that many never thought would be broken… but again records are made to be broken.
As a fan of Wayne Gretzky this is a little bittersweet. Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all-time and is the NHL’s greatest ambassador of all-time. Alexander Ovechkin is on the verger of owning a record that many thought would never be broken.
Alexander Ovechkin’s Career Statistics
Here is a look at Alex Ovechkin’s career stats as of March 21, 2025.
The Great Eight is now poised to become the greatest goal scorer of the National Hockey League. Here is a look back at Alexander Ovechkin’s goal scoring in the NHL.
Alex Ovechkin Goals Scoring FAQs
Here is a look back at some key goal scoring moments in Alex Ovechkin’s NHL career.
Who did Alexander Ovechkin score his first goal against?
Alex Ovechkin scored his first NHL goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during his debut game on October 5, 2005.
Which team has Alexander Ovechkin scored the most goals against?
Ovie has scored the most goals against the Winnipeg Jets, with a total of 55 goals in his career. Check out Statmuse for a list of Ovechkin’s goals vs each NHL team: https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/alex-ovechkin-stats-against-each-team-career-most-goals-per-a-game
Which NHL goalie has Alex Ovechkin scored the most goals against?
Alex Ovechkin has scored the most goals against Marc-André Fleury, with a total of 28 goals in 47 games where the two have faced each other. Fleury, a future Hall of Famer, has faced Ovechkin numerous times throughout their careers, making this rivalry one of the most iconic in NHL history.
How many times has Alexander Ovechkin won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy as the leagues top goal scorer?
Ovie has won the Rocket Richard trophy on nine occassions:
- 2007-08
- 2008-09
- 2012-13
- 2013-14
- 2014-15
- 2015-16
- 2017-18
- 2018-19
- 2019-20
Which NHL team did Alexander Ovechkin score his 100th NHL goal against?
Ovechkin scored his 100th career NHL goal against goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers on October 12, 2007. The Washington Capitals were defeated 3-2 by the Rangers on this night.
Which team did Alex Ovechkin score his first hat trick against?
Ovie netted his first career NHL hat trick vs, the Anaheim Ducks on January 13, 2006. Ovechkin beat Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère on three occasions to help secure a Capitals win. Here’s a great look at Ovie’s hat tricks: https://www.ginohard.com/alex-ovechkin-hat-tricks/.
How many four-goal games does Alexander Ovechkin have in his NHL career?
Alex Ovechkin has achieved the impressive feat of scoring 4 goals in a single game four times during his NHL career. He accomplished the feat twice vs the Montreal Canadiens, once vs. the Ottawa Senators and once vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. The most recent time he tallied four goals in a game was on October 7, 2017 at home versus the Canadiens.
How many empty net NHL goals has Alexander Ovechkin scored in his NHL career?
According to StatMuse, Alex Ovechkin has scored 65 empty net goals in his NHL career. This is the most of any player in NHL history. Earlier this season 8.2% of Ovechkin’s goals were empty-netters. Ovechkin scored his 57th empty-net goal to pass Gretzky for first in NHL history with 27 seconds left in the third period of a 3-0 win at the Boston Bruins on Feb. 10. 2024.
How many powerplay goals has Alexander Ovechkin scored in his NHL career?
As of March 21, 2025, the Great 8 has scored 321 career power-play goals in the National Hockey League.
Which National Hockey League team has Alexander scored the least number of goals on?
Surprisingly, Alex Ovechkin has scored the least goals against the San Jose Sharks, with only 6 goals in his career.
More Alexander Ovechkin Stats
Here are a few more Ovie stats to consider:
- Alex Ovechkin has scored against more that 180 NHL goalies in this career.
- Ovechkin broke the NHL record for most goals with one team when he scored No. 787 for the Capitals in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Capital One Arena on Nov. 5, 2022.
- Ovie is the the first player in NHL history to score at least 200 goals in three different decades, with 245 in the 2000s, 437 in the 2010s, and 200 in the 2020s.
- Ovechkin went two years between hat tricks before netting one vs, the New Jersey Devils on February 23, 2013.
- In the 2012-13 NHL lockout shortened season, Ovechkin scored 32 goals in 48 games. Pro-rated that would have been another 60-goal season for the Russian scoring sniper.
- Ovechkin scored his 700th NHL goal during Washington’s 3-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 22, 2020, joining Gretzky (894), Howe (801), Jagr (766), Brett Hull (741), Dionne (731), Esposito (717) and Gartner (708) as the other players to score 700 in the NHL.
- The Great Eight became the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals when he had a hat trick in a 7-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Dec. 13, 2022.
- In 2013, Alexander Ovechkin was named to both the NHL’s first team All-Star team and the Second All-Star team.
https://www.nhl.com/capitals/player/alex-ovechkin-8471214
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=63735
There are a lot of hockey fans that are a little saddened as Ovechkin eclipses Wayne Gretzky’s record for goals in the NHL. However how can you not be excited for this achievement? Alexander Ovechkin will go down as one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time. In time another player will come along and eclipse this record from Ovie, but for now, at the age of 39, Alexander Ovechkin is poised to become the greatest goal scorer of all time.
