When he takes the ice on Friday night, Alex Ovechkin will begin his 19th season in the NHL and resume his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record of 894. Ovechkin has 822 goals, 72 away from the immortal mark.
Challenging that record will take time, but the Era Adjusted Goals milestone will not.
According to TSN, Ovechkin’s next goal will give him 925 era-adjusted tallies, tying Gordie Howe (not Gretzky) for the most of all-time.
| Player | Goals | Era Adjusted Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Gordie Howe | 801 | 925 |
| Alex Ovechkin | 822 | 924 |
| Jaromir Jagr | 766 | 841 |
| Wayne Gretzky | 894 | 758 |
| Teemu Selanne | 684 | 741 |
| Brett Hull | 741 | 738 |
| Jarome Iginla | 625 | 706 |
| Brendan Shanahan | 656 | 672 |
| Phil Esposito | 717 | 671 |
| Maurice Richard | 544 | 653 |
Era-adjusted goals account for the variables in the era that a player scored in. For example, as Paul Pidutti points out in TSN’s article, Gretzky’s 73 goals in 1984-85 are equivalent to Ovechkin’s 51 goals in 2013-14 because of the 46 percent difference in league-wide goal-scoring between these seasons.
The adjusted goal stat is based off an 82-game schedule with a maximum roster size of 18 skaters and league averages of six goals per game and 1.67 assists per goal.
Ovechkin passed The Great One in career era-adjusted goals years ago as Gretzky’s total is 758, 136 goals fewer than his official tally of 894. Howe at 925 era-adjusted goals has been who Ovi (924) has been chasing since the 2018-19 season.
Somewhat surprisingly, Ovechkin has only scored in the first game of a season eight times during his career. However, he has done so in four of his last six season openers.
Ovechkin was asked Thursday if he still gets butterflies in his stomach to open a season. “Yeah, especially when you have so much time off after last year,” Ovechkin said. “I think it was a bad thing and a good thing. Right now we all here to bounce back and play hockey.”
Friday will be the second time in the big Russian winger’s career that the Caps start a campaign with a game against Pittsburgh. Back in 2016, the Penguins dropped the Capitals 3-2 (SO) in their Home Opener. Ovechkin did not score in that game despite firing five shots on target.
A major storyline in every single Capitals-Penguins game since 2005 has been the perceived personal rivalry between Ovechkin and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin was asked if he was excited to renew acquaintances with Sid the Kid.
“Yeah, it’s always been nice to play against him,” Ovechkin said. “He’s a top player in the league and that rivalry between me and Sid and Caps and Pens has always been top of the league for all the years.”
Ovechkin is also just 15 points shy of hitting 1,500 career points. When he hits that mark, he’ll become the 16th player ever to join the club, joining Gretzky (2,857), Jaromir Jagr (1,921), Mark Messier (1,887), Howe (1,850), Ron Francis (1,798), Marcel Dionne (1,771), Steve Yzerman (1,755), Mario Lemieux (1,723), Joe Sakic (1,641), Phil Esposito (1,590), Ray Bourque (1,579), Joe Thornton (1,539), Mark Recchi (1,533), Paul Coffey (1,531), and Crosby (1,502).
Ovechkin would be only the second non-Canadian to reach the mark (after Jagr), and he’d be the eighth player ever to do so with one team.
Puck drop for the Capitals-Penguins matchup is at 7:30 pm on Friday inside Capital One Arena.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
