With two goals against the Winnipeg Jets Alex Ovechkin scores his 801 and 802nd goal, passing Gordie Howe for second in NHL history.
Ovechkin tied Howe with his 801st at 18:22 of the first off a drop pass from Dylan Strome. His wrist shot from the top of the right face off circle beat Jets goalie David Rittch between the pads. He passed Mr. Hockey an empty net with just a minute remaining in the game.
Ovi now only has one number in mind, and one milestone to beat. 894. The Great 8 needs 93 goals to pass The Great One for the most goals in NHL history. With how Ovechkin has been playing I predict that by the end of the 2023-24 season he will have passed Gretzky. On the season Ovechkin sits with 22 goals in 36 games. If the Capitals make the playoffs Ovi would be in the 40-50s goal range which is nothing unusual for him. There has only been 4 season in his career where he has not scored 40 goals, and 8 where he has not scored at least 50. Whether he finishes this season with 40 some for 50 some this season it will leave him with the opposite number next season. With roughly 40 games left in the season and possibly the playoffs , Ovechkin should have no problem scoring at least 18 goals.
My prediction is that no later than November of the 2024-2025 season Ovechkin will have passed Wayne Gretzky, but I think he can do it with this season and the following.
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Hockey Talk
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