Emphasis on the past tense. With 15 goals in his first 19 games, those hockey prognosticators might have to reconsider the Ovi-Great One math.
Ovechkin has already moved up two places on the all-time goals list this season, surpassing Marcel Dionne (he scored 50 goals or more per season for the LA Kings from 1978-79 through 1982-83) and the greatest American goal scorer, Brett Hull. He finished Sunday's game against the Kraken fourth on the career goals list with 745 scores.
Longtime hockey fans know Ovechkin has a favorite spot, from the left faceoff circle, where he likes to set up to receive passes on the power play to then fire a one-timer (not stopping the pass on his stick blade but shooting as soon as the puck arrives).
San Jose knows it, too. Ovechkin scored the second goal of Saturday's 4-0 win over the Sharks on a one-timer from what is called his "office," the top of the faceoff circle. The power-play goal is the 272nd of Ovechkin's career; he is three man-advantage goals from passing Dave Andreychuk (he played for six NHL teams, most notably Buffalo and Toronto), who has 274 career power-play scores.
Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal late in the game to finish the night with 744 career goals.
While Kraken fans didn't want to see Ovechkin adding to his totals Sunday night, it was a chance to watch a 36-year-old still playing at an elite level. Ovechkin notched his 15th of the season during the third period against Seattle. He is second in goals to Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (18) and two ahead of everyone's choice for best player in the sport, Edmonton's Connor McDavid. Ovechkin is at least 10 years older than the other players in the top five.
The top three scorers Ovechkin is now chasing represent a long-term project for the Russian superstar who made plenty of newscasts and blog posts about how he unabashedly celebrated winning the Stanley Cup in 2018 (along with Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who certainly sampled the full range of Ovechkin's shot types over four seasons as teammates).
Gretzky stands tallest and hardest at 894 while Gordie Howe is second with 801. The first step is notching 23 goals to pass Jaromir Jagr's 766 to become the No. 3 all-time scorer. Fun fact: Kraken GM Ron Francis assisted on 110 Jagr goals while the two were Pittsburgh teammates.
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol called Ovechkin one of the greatest scorers in the game and recognizes the Washington winger and his linemates, center Evgeny Kuznetsov and wing Tom Wilson, form a "big, heavy line." The numbers support his view: Ovechkin has 15 goals and 15 assists, Kuznetsov has 16 assists plus six goals. Wilson is at six goals and 10 assists on the season.
Ovechkin signed a five-year contract before this season, so he clearly has sights set on playing until he is 40 or older. If he averages 33 goals per season over the five years, he breaks a record once thought unbreakable. It's not a certainty - at 6-3, 238 pounds Ovechkin plays a physical game and has spent time on the injured list - but it's far from a between-the-goal-pipes dream.
