The 33-year-old forward scored for the Washington Capitals 15:34 into the first period of a 5-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Only Mike Gartner has more 30-goal seasons from the start of his NHL career (15 to start, 17 total). Jaromir Jagr (with 15) is the only other player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals in at least 14 seasons.
"It's nice to be in that company (with Gartner) but still a long way to go (in my career)," Ovechkin said.
Ovechkin, who had not scored in six games, has scored 30 goals in 39 games, equalling the fewest it has taken in his NHL career (2007-08, when he finished with an NHL career-high 65).
This is the fifth time Ovechkin is the first NHL player to score 30 goals, including the past two seasons and five of the past seven.
"It's amazing what he's done, and that was encouraging," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. "... He's just an elite, elite scorer that we're so fortunate to have on our team and the League is even fortunate just to have this type of a player that's a generational talent. To score 30 again this year is quite an accomplishment after going through a long season last year, and he continues to get a year older, but he still does the phenomenal things. Just the way he's able to score goals is unmatched for the most part."
Ovechkin is the third player in NHL history to be the first to 30 goals in a season at age 33 or older, joining Bill Cook (age 34 in 1930-31 for the New York Rangers) and Teemu Selanne (age 36 in 2006-07 for the Anaheim Ducks). Ovechkin is the second player in NHL history to be the first to score 30 goals in consecutive seasons after turning 30, joining Phil Esposito (31 in 1973-74 and 32 in 1974-75 for the Boston Bruins).
With 637 goals, Ovechkin is three behind Dave Andreychuk for 14th in NHL history. Ovechkin has played 1,042 NHL games.
