Wayne Gretzky spoke of that Alex Ovechkin break his NHL record of 894 goals long before the Washington Capitals left winger thought he might match it.
When Ovechkin scored his 802nd goal on December 23 to overtake Gordie Howe and move up to second place in NHL history, Gretzky’s opinion was reinforced.
Since then, Ovechkin hasn’t stopped scoring goals, taking his total to 806. That puts him 88 goals behind Gretzky ahead of Washington’s first game of 2023, Tuesday’s home game once morest the Buffalo Sabers (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNP, NBCSWA+, MSG-B, ESPN+, SN NOW; Wed. 1 a.m CET).
“I think we’re past the point of whether he’s going to do it,” Gretzky said before working as an analyst on the TNT broadcast of the 2023 Discover Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on Monday. “We said a year ago that it’s only a matter of time before he does it. So it’s great for the game. It’s positive and I think it mightn’t happen to a better person. He is great for our sport.”
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Ovechkin has six goals in the last four games of 2022 for the Capitals, including his 30th NHL hat-trick in the 9-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on New Year’s Eve. With 26 goals in 39 games, the 37-year-old is on track to score 54 goals this season. It would be the tenth time he has scored at least 50 goals, breaking the NHL record he shares with Gretzky and Mike Bossy.
Ovechkin scored 50 goals at the age of 36 last season, becoming the oldest player to reach that milestone.
“A couple of guys I’ve seen in my career, Mike Bossy and Brett Hull, are two of the most prolific goalscorers I’ve ever seen and one of the things that all three have in common is that they don’t do that very often missed the goal,” said Gretzky. “Often the boys have big chances and before you know it the puck is flying over the boards and out the other side. But if you look closely with Alex and Brett and Mike Bossy, they don’t miss the net and they know it that they had to find the space between the defender and the forward.”
“There’s that open piece of ice that you either have a feel for or a knack for or you don’t, and Alex definitely has a feel for that.”
Ovechkin, who is in his 18th NHL season, has three more seasons left on his contract to catch up with Gretzky and possibly surpass a record 900 goals. When asked how far Ovechkin can stretch the record, Gretzky replied: “Well that depends on him, how long he plays and hopefully stays injury-free.”
Gretzky retired following the 1998-99 season when he was 38 following 20 NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He scored his 802nd goal and passed Howe on March 23, 1994 with the Kings once morest the Vancouver Canucks.
Gretzky appreciated that Howe’s sons, former NHL defensemen Mark and Marty Howe, supported Ovechkin in pursuing their father and attended the Capitals’ December 19 home game once morest the Detroit Red Wings. Gordie Howe, who died in 2016 at the age of 88, similarly assisted Gretzky in chasing the NHL record for points (which Howe held with 1,850 before Gretzky broke it with 2,857 points) and goals.
Gretzky would like to do the same for Ovechkin as the latter nears the goal record.
“It’s up to the league and the Washington Capitals and what they want to do, but obviously Gordie was a huge inspiration to me and he was there when I [seine Rekorde] broke,” Gretzky said. “And I thought it was really noble of Mark and Marty to follow Alex as he went following Gordie. So yes, when the time is right I won’t be going to every game to 895 now, but if he’s close I’d obviously like to be there.”
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report.