When Will the Capitals Captain Beat Gretzky’s Goal Record?

Eight goals away. Alex Ovechkin has worn the number eight on his jersey during the entirety of his NHL career. Now, he is chasing a record most thought would never have been broken; Wayne Gretzky’s record for most career NHL goals in the regular season. In 20 years in the NHL, and 1,487 games, Gretzky has put the puck in the net 894 times. Ovechkin is currently at 887 goals after 1,477 games. It is entirely possible he will get to Gretzky’s record in fewer NHL games, which is more impressive than beating the record to begin with. This brings up an important question; when will Ovechkin break the record? There are many methods of how to predict when this will be.

On Pace with His Current Season

Alex Ovechkin has played 50 games this season, and has scored 33 games in that span. This is two goals every three games. At this rate, scoring eight goals will take 12 games. 12 games away for the Capitals is the April 12th game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ovechkin would not reach the record in fewer games than Gretzky. It would be close, but Ovechkin has a nine-game window to do so, faster than his pace this season.

On Pace with His Last 10 Games

In Ovechkin’s last 10 NHL games, he has put the puck in the net five times. This is a pace of one goal every other game. To score eight goals, Ovechkin would do so in 16 games according to this pace. Given Washington has 15 games left, Ovechkin would not be able to complete this accomplishment this season. To beat Gretzky’s record this season AND in fewer games, he would have to do his best to do something drastic. This is something that has only been done a few times in the NHL this millennium.

Score Eight Goals in Eight Games

Alex Ovechkin has 15 games to score eight goals. He has nine games to do so if he wants to accomplish this in fewer games than Gretzky, and 10 in the same amount of games. A consistent and incredibly fast pace to do this is one goal a game. An eight-game streak of an individual scoring a goal has only been done a few times this millennium in the NHL. The most recent case of this was last year by Sam Reinhart. Ovechkin is already attempting to break history, and what better way to do that than by making further history? He has already made history with a 19th consecutive 20-goal season in the NHL, so clearly nothing is impossible for this man.