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Monday, January 27, 2020

#NHLPeachy Alex Ovechkin: The Road to 700 Goals (11th Place)


OVECHKIN PASSES SELANNE, NOW 14 GOALS SHY OF 700
Alex Ovechkin scored the 685th and 686th regular-season goals of his NHL career Monday to pass Teemu Selanne (684) for sole possession of 11th place on the League’s all-time list and propel the Capitals to a 2-0 win.

* Ovechkin sits 14 goals shy of becoming the eighth member of the NHL’s 700-goal club, with three Hall of Fame members – Mario Lemieux (690), Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694) – standing between him and the illustrious group.


* Ovechkin needed 142 games to get from goal 600 to goal 685, matching Wayne Gretzky for the fewest contests to make that leap. Gretzky is the only member of the 700-goal club who needed fewer than 200 games to go from 600 to 700.


* Ovechkin has averaged 0.60 goals-per-game to this point in his career – to rank fifth in NHL history (min. 300 GP) – including a League-best 0.57 rate since celebrating his 30th birthday on Sept. 17, 2015. Among players in the 700-goal club, only two scored at a rate of 0.50 G/GP or higher from age 30 onward.


* At his 2019-20 pace (0.60 G/GP), Ovechkin is on track to join the 700-goal club in his 70th game of the season and 1,154th contest of his regular-season career. Only two players hit the milestone in fewer than 1,200 games: Gretzky (886 GP) and Brett Hull (1,157 GP).

By the Numbers: Alex Ovechkin’s Road to 700 NHL Goals
A look at some of the numbers behind the highest-scoring left wing and Russian in NHL history:



5,450 

Shots on goal by Alex Ovechkin to date; only Ray Bourque (6,209) and Jaromir Jagr (5,637) have more since the League began tracking in 1959-60.


5,214 

Days from his first NHL goal (Oct. 5, 2005) to his 685th NHL goal (Jan. 13, 2020).


425 

Even-strength goals by Alex Ovechkin, 11th-most in NHL history.


257 

Power-play goals by Alex Ovechkin to date; only Dave Andreychuk (274) and Brett Hull (265) have more since the League began tracking in 1933-34.


255 

Assists by Nicklas Backstrom on regular-season goals by Alex Ovechkin. Only three players in NHL history have set up a teammate more: Wayne Gretzky (364; Jari Kurri), Bryan Trottier (310; Mike Bossy) and Henrik Sedin (280; Daniel Sedin).


236 

Go-ahead goals by Alex Ovechkin, the third-most in NHL history behind Brett Hull (264) and Jarome Iginla (262).


75 

Tiebreaking goals by Alex Ovechkin that have stood as the game-winner, tied with Jaromir Jagr (75) for the most such goals in NHL history.


280 

The fewest games played required for any 200-goal span of Alex Ovechkin’s career – he scored career goals 61 to 261 from Nov. 6, 2006 to Feb. 7, 2010. Once Ovechkin passes Mark Messier (694) with goal 695, he will need 200 goals to overtake Wayne Gretzky (894).


215 

Times Alex Ovechkin has scored Washington’s first goal of a game, the fifth-most such goals in NHL history (he has given the Capitals a 1-0 lead 117 times).


140 

Different goaltenders Alex Ovechkin has scored against during the regular season.


124 

Tying goals by Alex Ovechkin, the third-most by a player at the time of his 686th career goal behind Dave Andreychuk (137) and Joe Sakic (132).


109 

Game-winning goals by Alex Ovechkin, tied for sixth place in NHL history.


93 

Different players to record an assist on an Alex Ovechkin goal during the regular season (Top 3: Nicklas Backstrom: 255; John Carlson: 107; Mike Green: 70).


48 

Goals by Alex Ovechkin against the Lightning, his highest total against one franchise during the regular season (Top 5: TBL: 48, WPG/ATL: 47, CAR: 43, TOR: 41; FLA: 39).


29 

Age, in years, of Wayne Gretzky when he scored his 700th regular-season goal. He is the only player to reach the milestone before age 36.


23 

Overtime goals by Alex Ovechkin during the regular season, the most in NHL history.



Most regular-season games against a goalie versus whom he has never scored a goal (0 G in 7 GP vs. Mike Condon and Mathieu Garon).



Career regular-season goals scored by Alex Ovechkin against Pascal Leclaire – the goaltender against whom he scored his first NHL goal.



Shorthanded goals scored by Alex Ovechkin, with his last coming more than 11 years ago against the New York Rangers (Jan. 3, 2009).


0.94 

Alex Ovechkin’s career goals-per-game against the Wild, his best against one franchise.





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