Ovechkin joins Gretzky and Howe in NHL’s exclusive 800 goal club

Move over Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe, there’s a new top goal scorer in town and he’s coming for your records. Alex Ovechkin just joined the list of the NHL’s top goal scorers, unseating Jaromir Jagr to clinch the third spot. 

The Washington Capitals captain became the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals on December 13th after completing a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks to move within one goal of Gordie Howe’s number 2 record. 

"The fans here in Chicago were terrific, the way that they saluted him," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said, "for him to get a hat trick on the road to get to 800 was just a special night."

Ovechkin is the first player to score 800 goals while playing for only one franchise, which extended the record he set earlier this season when he hit 787 goals. 

"It's a big number," Ovechkin said when asked about his 800th goal during his post-game interview, "It's the best company (you can) ever imagine since you started playing hockey."

Anthony Mantha, who got the primary assist on Ovechkin's 800th goal said "I think once he's going to be No. 1 he can have a sense of relief," adding "Until then, I think he's on the hunt, and that's what we love about him.”

It took the top NHL goal scorer of all time Wayne Gretzky 231 games to make the leap from 700 goals to 800 goals while Gordie Howe did it in 256 games, but hockey was a lot different back then. 

During both Gretzky and Howe’s eras, it was a lot easier to put the puck in the net. They were eras of far higher scores which only makes Ovetchkin’s accomplishment that much more impressive. 

Ovechkin was able to close the gap between 700 and 800 goals in just 162 games during a time when NHL games are likely to average 2.76 goals per game according to Sportsnet. 

But in Gretzky’s era, the average goals per game was roughly 3.94 and during Howe’s time on the ice, it was 3.04. 

With his accomplishment, the Capitals winger has put himself in a good position to be able to snag the record for the NHL’s all-time goal sorcerer if he is able to continue his prolific scoring pace into the twilight years of his hockey career. 

Ovechkin is pretty undeniably one of the best pure goal scorers of all time, and his longevity has been insane. He’s 37 and his scoring hasn’t declined at all. In fact, Ovechkin’s 30s have seen him put up some impressive numbers. 

Ovechkin scored 325 times since turning 30, the fourth-highest amount among any NHL player. This feat is even more impressive when you consider that the Capitals captain rarely misses a game. 

Well, Ovechkin rarely misses games when it's within his control. Let’s not forget the Capitals’ winger did achieve 800 despite the fact that he missed two entire seasons to lockouts in the 2004-05 and 2012-13 seasons.

Had it not been for those lockouts we might have already seen Ovechkin at the top of the list of the NHL’s greatest goal-scorers. On the other hand, the stats do reveal something about Ovechkin’s gameplay. 

Ovechkin only has 644 career assists compared to Wayne Gretzky’s absolutely absurd 1487, which shows that even though Ovechkin might catch up in goals scored, Gretzky was still the better playmaker and all-around more dominant player.