Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is very close to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record.
However, the 38-year-old Russian thinks he would have already broken the record if he hadn’t missed 155 games due to two NHL lockouts and the COVID-19 pandemic. “If there had been no lockout and no pandemic, I think Gretzky’s record would have been broken by now,” Ovechkin said on “Podcasts with Amiran Sardarov.” He added that these interruptions are just part of life.
Ovechkin might be right. Over his 1,426 NHL games, he has averaged 0.59 goals per game. If you do the math, he could have scored an extra 92 goals in those missed games. That means not only would he have surpassed Gretzky’s record by now, but he also might have been the first player in NHL history to reach 900 goals!
Ovechkin’s Scoring Consistency:
Fans often wonder how many more records Ovechkin could break! Out of his 19 seasons, he’s scored at least 30 goals in 18 of them. The one season he didn’t was during the COVID-shortened schedule when the NHL played only 56 games; even then, he managed to score 24 goals.
Imagine what could’ve happened without those missed games! Do you think Ovechkin will still break Gretzky’s record soon?
