Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky record with latest milestone

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 3/22/23

Washington Capitals megastar Alex Ovechkin is still chasing down Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals-scored record, but on Tuesday night, he did manage to break a different record set by The Great One.

Ovechkin's goal in the first period of the Capitals' game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was his 40th goal of the season, giving him 13 career 40-goal seasons for his entire career ... and counting.

That is the most 40-goal seasons for any player in league history, besting the mark that was previously set by Gretzky with 12 40-goal seasons.

BREAKING: Alex Ovechkin has passed Wayne Gretzky for the most …
… 40-goal seasons in @NHL history.#NHLStats: https://t.co/qtTWBjJajs pic.twitter.com/FFMDH5JZc7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2023

That goal on Tuesday also gives Ovechkin 820 for his career, leaving him just 74 short of Gretzky's all-time record of 894. Given the way Ovechkin is still a 40-goal scorer even into his mid-to-late 30s, he should realistically be able to catch Gretzky sometime early in the 2024-25 season.

Ovechkin's late-career performance continues to defy the aging curves we see from other prime goal-scorers as he is not really slowing down all that much. He scored 50 goals a year ago in his age-36 season, and with 40 goals in 66 games this season, he is on a 49.5-goal pace over 82 games. Because he missed a handful of games during the season he is unlikely to reach the 50-goal mark again, but he remains one of the league's most dominant goal-scorers and is inching his way closer to having the official title of greatest goal-scorer.

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