Ovechkin has eyes on another 50-goal season for Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. -- To Alex Ovechkin, 50 has always been the magic number.

Ovechkin's primary focus is on trying to help the Washington Capitals repeat as Stanley Cup champions. But with a League-leading 45 goals heading into the Capitals' game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on "Wednesday Night Hockey" (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS), the 33-year-old forward knows the eighth 50-goal season of his 14-season NHL career is within his reach.
"When you have a chance to score 50, it's always nice," Ovechkin said. "Unfortunately, I didn't score (50) last year, but if I have a chance to score (50) this year, why not?
"Fifty is a pretty cool number."

Ovechkin finished with a League-high 49 goals last season. He has 16 games remaining this season to score the five goals he needs to get to 50 for the first time since 2015-16 and move within one of Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, who share the NHL record with nine 50-goal seasons each.
No other player has more than six 50-goal seasons.
"He's been fantastic," said Bossy, now an analyst for TVA Sports. "I get to see a lot of his games, I get to see the Capitals quite a bit and he's like clockwork out there. He not only scores goals, but last year led his team to a Stanley Cup championship, which was fantastic. I was very happy for him."
Ovechkin (33 years, 201 days on the final day of this season) would be the third oldest player in NHL history with a 50-goal season (based on age at the end of the season), according to NHL Stats. Johnny Bucyk, who scored 51 goals with the Boston Bruins in 1970-71 at 35 years and 327 days old, was the oldest, followed by Jaromir Jagr, who scored 54 with the New York Rangers in 2005-06 when he was 34 years and 62 days old.
What makes Ovechkin's production more impressive is how rare 50-goal seasons have become.
Since Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored 60 goals and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored 50 in 2011-12, Ovechkin is the only player to have a 50-goal season and this would be his fourth over that span. He scored 51 in 2013-14, 53 in 2014-15 and 50 in 2015-16.
At least one other player reached 50 goals in each of Bossy's and Gretzky's nine 50-goal seasons. This season, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (41 goals) and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks (40 goals) also are on pace to score 50. It would be the first 50-goal season for each.
"I got asked that question at the start of the year, 'Do you think he can score 50 again?' and it's such a tough thing to talk about because 50 goals is an amazing, amazing year," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. "And he just continues to do it despite getting a year older and despite having a long season the year before. He's pretty remarkable."
Some wondered how motivated Ovechkin would be and how much of the offseason he spent training after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time. But Reirden said Ovechkin reported for training camp two pounds lighter than last season (though he's still listed at 235) and with a lower percentage of body fat.
Then, he scored eight goals in the first eight games to set a blistering pace.

"The people who don't know him, they were surprised, but not me," said Los Angeles Kings forward and good friend Ilya Kovalchuk, a two-time 50-goal scorer. "He worked his butt off all summer. He celebrated good, but the way he worked out in the summer time, that's paid dividends."
The No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Ovechkin scored 50 goals in four of his first five seasons, including 52 as a rookie in 2005-06 and a career-high 65 in 2007-08. He failed to reach 40 in his next three seasons but led the League with 32 in 48 games (a pace for 54 goals in an 82-game season) during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
Ovechkin followed with three straight 50-goal seasons (51, 53, 50) before dropping to 33 in 2016-17. After changing his offseason training regimen to regain some of the speed and power he'd lost with age, Ovechkin rebounded with 49 goals last season and is on pace to finish with 56 this season, which would match the second highest total of his career from 2008-09.
"It's such a long season, it's amazing that he can do it every single night," linemate Tom Wilson said. "One of the hardest things in this league is to stay consistent and he's done it for 14 years now. So, it's awesome and it's something that people will remember his name probably forever."
Ovechkin is the first player in NHL history with 10 seasons of at least 45 goals and is closing in on winning the Rocket Richard Trophy as the League's leading goal scorer for the eighth time. That would break his tie with Bobby Hull for the most times leading the League in goals.
"He has a great shot and when he's not picking corners, he's putting it through the goalie," said Bossy, who led the League in goals in 1978-79 (69 goals) and 1980-81 (68). "He loves to score goals. He gets in position, he goes to the front of the net when he's not scoring off the one-timer and the fact that he also plays with some very good centermen, as was my case, helps a great deal."
Bossy, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, benefitted from having Bryan Trottier as his center for most of his 10 NHL seasons. A chronic back injury forced him to retire in 1987 with 573 goals in 752 games.
Ovechkin, who is 14th in NHL history with 652 goals in 1,068 games, has had Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov as his centers for much of his career. Ovechkin's durability (he's missed more than four games in a season only once) and the skill of his linemates are among the reasons Bossy believes he will catch him and Gretzky and get a ninth 50-goal season.
"I think he has a great chance," Bossy said. "One distinction I say with a little smile is mine were nine in a row. But I think he has a great chance."