Alexander Ovechkin becomes third player in NHL history with 800 goals

Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Ovechkin of Moscow, Russia became the third player in National Hockey League history with 800 regular season career goals. He achieved the feat in a 7-3 Capitals win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The only other two players with 800 goals are Wayne Gretzky with 894 goals and Gordie Howe with 801 goals.

Historical Significance

Ovechkin now has 29 hat tricks, which is sixth all-time. He only trails Gretzky (50), Mario Lemieux (40), the late Mike Bossy (39), Brett Hull (33), and Phil Esposito (32). Ovechkin also now has 18 consecutive 20-goal seasons in his NHL career. That is the third most in NHL history, only behind Howe (22), and Brendan Shanahan (19).

Hat trick against the Blackhawks

Ovechkin scored the first two goals of the game. The first goal came only 24 seconds into the contest from defenseman John Carlson of Natick, Massachusetts and Conor Sheary of Winchester, Massachusetts. Ovechkin then put the Capitals up 2-0 at 8:14 of the first period on the power-play from Sonny Milano of Massapequa, New York and Sheary. Ovechkin’s hat trick came on a goal at 6:34 of the third period from Anthony Mantha of Longueuil, Quebec and fellow Russian Evgeny Kuznetsov of Chelyabinsk, which put the Capitals up 5-2 at the time.

Ovechkin’s 2022-23 NHL statistics

In 31 games, Ovechkin has 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points. He is a -8 with 16 penalty minutes, 14 power-play points, three-game winning goals, 134 shots on goal, one faceoff win, 11 blocked shots, 84 hits, 16 takeaways, and 16 giveaways.

Fifth straight Win

With the 7-3 Capitals win over the Blackhawks, the Capitals have now won five straight games. They also beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2, the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1, the Seattle Kraken 4-1, and the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 during the streak. Washington also moved one point back of the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

When do the Capitals play next?

The Capitals next play host to the Dallas Stars on Thursday. With a goal, Ovechkin will tie Howe for the second most goals in NHL history with 801.