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How many goals does Alex Ovechkin need to pass Wayne Gretzky as NHL's all-time scorer?
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- How many goals does Alex Ovechkin need to pass Wayne Gretzky as NHL's all-time scorer?
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin continues to stay on pace to pass Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goal record before season's end.
Ovechkin, 39, entered this season needing 42 goals to break Gretzky's record of 894 career goals, which has stood since 1999. The Washington captain , who scored his 891st goal on Tuesday, has 38 goals this season and needs four more with eight games left to become the NHL's all-time leader.
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Ovechkin scored 15 times in his first 18 games before suffering a fractured left fibula during a Nov. 18 game against the Utah Hockey Club . He has scored 23 times in 40 games since he returned on Dec. 28 .
This season, he passed Gordie Howe for most goals scored after 30 moved into second place with 20 consecutive 20-goal seasons and set a record for number of goalies scored against in his career. He tied records for game-winning goals and most franchises against which he has a hat trick. And he became the first player to score 200 goals in three different decades.
If he doesn't reach Gretzky's goal record this season, he has one more season left on his contract .
Here's where Ovechkin stands in his chase of Gretzky's goal record (stats through April 1):
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OVECHKIN VS. GRETZKY: Comparing the two greats
CAPITALS SCHEDULE: How Ovechkin has fared vs. remaining teams
How many goals does Alex Ovechkin have?
Ovechkin has 891 career goals.
How many goals does Alex Ovechkin need to pass Wayne Gretzky?
Ovechkin needs four goals to break Gretzky's record.
Can Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's record this season?
Ovechkin has 38 goals and 27 assists in 58 games. Factoring in the 16 games he missed, that is a 43-goal pace, giving him a chance to break the record this season. As of Tuesday, Ovechkin has played in three fewer career games than Gretzky.
What did Alex Ovechkin do in his last game?
Ovechkin had a power-play goal, an assist and two shots in a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins . He had moved in from his usual spot in the left faceoff circle and was alone near the crease when he took a pass from Dylan Strome and scored past Jeremy Swayman .
When is Alex Ovechkin's next game?
The Capitals play Wednesday at Carolina . Ovechkin has 51 goals in 91 career regular-season games against the Hurricanes, including one in an earlier meeting this season.
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Alex Ovechkin vs. Wayne Gretzky stats
Games:Gretzky 1,487 | Ovechkin 1,484
Goals:Gretzky 894 | Ovechkin 891
Assists:Gretzky 1,963 | Ovechkin 724
Points:Gretzky 2,857 | Ovechkin 1,615
Alex Ovechkin goals in 2024-25
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Oct. 19: 1 vs. New Jersey
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Oct. 23: 1 vs. Philadelphia
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Oct. 29: 2 vs. N.Y. Rangers
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Oct. 31: 1 vs. Montreal
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Nov. 2: 1 vs. Columbus
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Nov. 3: 1 vs. Carolina
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Nov. 6: 1 vs. Nashville
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Nov. 9: 2 vs. St. Louis
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Nov. 17: 3 vs. Vegas
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Nov. 18: 2 vs. Utah
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Dec. 28: 1 vs. Toronto
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Dec. 29: 1 vs. Detroit
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Jan. 2: 1 vs. Minnesota
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Jan. 4: 1 vs. N.Y. Rangers
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Jan. 11: 1 vs. Nashville
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Jan. 16: 1 vs. Ottawa
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Jan. 23: 1 vs. Seattle
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Jan. 30: 1 vs. Ottawa
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Feb 1: 1 vs. Winnipeg
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Feb. 4: 1 vs. Florida
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Feb. 6: 1 vs. Philadelphia
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Feb. 23: 3 vs. Edmonton
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Feb. 25: 1 vs. Calgary
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March 1: 1 vs. Tampa Bay
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March 5: 1 vs. N.Y. Rangers
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March 9: 1 vs. Seattle
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March 15: 1 vs. San Jose
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March 19: 1 vs. Philadelphia
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March 25: 1 vs. Winnipeg
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March 30: 1 vs. Buffalo
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April 1: 1 vs. Boston
Alex Ovechkin career goals breakdown
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Even strength: 564, third overall
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Power play: 322, a record
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Short-handed: 5
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Empty net: 65, a record
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Game winners: 135, tied for first with Jaromir Jagr
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Overtime goals: 27, a record
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Multi-goal games: 178, second overall
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Goalies scored against: 182, a record
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Hat tricks: 32, tied for fifth overall. Ovechkin has hat tricks against 20 franchises, tying Brett Hull's record.
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20-goal seasons: 20, tied for second
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30-goal seasons: 19, a record
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40-goal seasons: 13, a record
Alex Ovechkin empty-net goals
Ovechkin has a record 65 empty-net goals, but Gretzky is up there, too, with 56. Ovechkin passed Gretzky in that category last season.
Alex Ovechkin goals by season
Season: Goals, career total
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2005-06: 52, 52
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2006-07: 46, 98
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2007-08: 65*, 163
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2008-09: 56*, 219
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2009-10: 50, 269
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2010-11: 32, 301
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2011-12: 38, 339
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2012-13: 32*, 371
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2013-14: 51*, 422
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2014-15: 53*, 475
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2015-16: 50*, 525
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2016-17: 33, 558
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2017-18: 49*, 607
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2018-19: 51*, 658
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2019-20: 48*, 706
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2020-21: 24, 730
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2021-22: 50, 780
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2022-23: 42, 822
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2023-24: 31, 853
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2024-25: 38, 891
*-led league in goals that season
NHL all-time goal scorers
The top 21 NHL all-time goal scorers all have 600 or more goals. All of the players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame , except Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Jagr, who are still playing.
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1. Wayne Gretzky, 894 goals in 1,487 games
2. Alex Ovechkin, 891 goals in 1,484 games
3. Gordie Howe, 801 goals in 1,767 games
4. Jaromir Jagr, 766 goals in 1,733 games
5. Brett Hull, 741 goals in 1,269 games
6. Marcel Dionne, 731 in 1,348 games
7. Phil Esposito, 717 goals in 1,282 games
8. Mike Gartner, 708 goals in 1,432 games
9. Mark Messier, 694 goals in 1,756 games
10. Steve Yzerman, 692 goals in 1,514 games
11. Mario Lemieux, 690 goals in 915 games
12. Teemu Selanne , 684 goals in 1,451 games
13. Luc Robitaille, 668 goals in 1,431 games
14. Brendan Shanahan, 656 goals in 1,524 games
15. Dave Andreychuk, 640 goals in 1,639 games
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16. Joe Sakic, 625 goals in 1,378 games
17. Jarome Iginla , 625 goals in 1,554 games
18. Sidney Crosby , 619 goals in 1,345 games
19. Bobby Hull, 610 goals in 1,063 games
20. Dino Ciccarelli, 608 goals in 1,232 games
21. Jari Kurri, 601 goals in 1,251 games
ESPN+, truTV to present OviCast
ESPN announced it would present an OviCast on ESPN+ broadcasts on Thursday, April 10, 12, 15 and 17. Each OviCast will feature an isolated camera on Ovechkin in one box with record-breaking information below, alongside the traditional game feed in a second box with his game stats. TNT will do something similar on truTV during its April 2 and 6 broadcasts.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Ovechkin goals tracker: How many he needs to pass Wayne Gretzky
