Ovechkin closing in on Hull for fourth on NHL goals list

Brett Hull has known for a while that it is only a matter of time before Alex Ovechkin passes him for fourth on the NHL goals list.

So Hull isn't surprised by how quickly the Washington Capitals forward is closing in on his 741 goals.
By scoring eight goals in his first seven games this season, Ovechkin is within three of tying Hull heading into Washington's game against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, NBCSWA, BSAZ, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"It's not like I've been waiting for it, but I know he's going to pass me, that's for sure," Hull said Thursday. "It will still be pretty cool to be in the top five when he does."
Hull scored 741 goals in 1,269 games in 19 NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Coyotes. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
Ovechkin has scored 738 goals in 1,204 games in 17 seasons with the Capitals. When he passes Hull, Ovechkin would trail Jaromir Jagr (766 goals), Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky, who holds the NHL record with 894.
"I spend a lot of time with Mr. Gretzky, and on the golf course when he sinks a putt, he looks at everybody and goes, 'Hey, you know, you've got to earn your nickname ('The Great One'),' and 'Ovi' is certainly living up to 'The Great Eight,'" Hull said. "It's fun to watch. I wouldn't say he's one of a kind until he possibly passes Wayne. Then he can be one of a kind. But he is part of a group of guys that could score.
"Just to keep doing it like he is, you have to tip your hat to him. He's a great player."
Hull followed his father, Bobby Hull, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 after scoring 610 goals (18th in NHL history) in 1,063 games in 16 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks, Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers. Bobby Hull scored at least 50 goals in a season five times, including an NHL career-high 58 with the Black Hawks in 1968-69.
Brett Hull also scored at least 50 goals five times, including three straight seasons with at least 70 goals from 1990-92. His 86 goals in 1990-91 remain the third-highest total in a season in NHL history, behind Gretzky's 87 in 1983-84 and 92 in 1981-82.
When Hull retired five games into the 2005-06 season at the age of 41, he knew that 741 goals was all he had in him.
"I tell everybody how lucky I feel where I walked away from the game and there was nothing more for me to accomplish," Hull said. "I couldn't have scored another goal and I was injury-free. It was just the gas tank was empty and I had to pull over on the side of the road."

After Jagr passed him for third in NHL history by scoring No. 742 on Feb. 20, 2016, Hull figured Ovechkin would eventually surpass him, too. And he's content being fifth.
"It's incredible," Hull said. "Think of all the great players that have played this game. Maybe we were fortunate to play in an era when goals went up, but did the goals go up because we scored more goals than everybody else in different eras? I don't know, but it was guys like Gretzky who paved the way and made you feel like it's not just getting your 50th goal in the last game of the year and going, 'Woo, I got 50 goals!' It was, 'Let's get 50 goals in 39 games (accomplished in 1981-82).'
"He paved the way to make us think that there were loftier goals to reach, and I hope that Ovi looks at it that way as well and says, 'Look how all these guys scored. I'm going to do it.'"
With his latest goal against the Red Wings on Wednesday, Ovechkin moved within three of Dave Andreychuk's NHL record of 274 power-play goals. Last season, Ovechkin passed Hull for second in power-play goals when he scored No. 266 against the Boston Bruins on April 8.
Like Hull, Ovechkin has utilized the one-timer as his biggest weapon on the power play. NHL.com charted each of Ovechkin's goals, and of the 271 he's scored on the power play, 109 of them (40.2 percent) have come on one-timers from the left circle or above it.
However, Hull said there's more to Ovechkin's game than his one-timer.
"A goal is a goal and to be able to do it as often as he has, that's the great thing," Hull said. "He doesn't do it one way. He scores a lot of different goals."
Hull's biggest question about Ovechkin catching Gretzky used to be whether he was going to play long enough to do it. That was answered when Ovechkin signed a five-year contract to remain with the Capitals on July 27.
Now, Hull said he believes that if Ovechkin can remain healthy, "there's a very great chance he can catch Wayne."
He has mixed feelings about that, though.
"It would be crazy cool for the game, but having Wayne as one of my best friends, I always appreciate that he is the greatest of all time," Hull said. "The guy has more assists (1,963) than anyone else has points in the history of the game. If Ovi passes him, that's how great Wayne is. He loves the game and knows it will be great for the game for that to happen."