A Look Back at Alex Ovechkin’s Milestone Goals

Washington Capitals’ captain and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin reached a feat never before accomplished in last night’s game against the St. Louis Blues– 900 NHL goals. It’s been a long road to achieving that total, starting on Oct. 5, 2005, and continuing for more than 20 years. Let’s take a look back at his goal-scoring prowess and see how each milestone goal made him one of the greatest players in hockey history.

NHL Firsts

Not only did Ovechkin play his first NHL game with the Capitals in their 2005-06 season opener, but he also scored his first- and second-career goals in the game. The rookie was able to sneak two goals past Pascal Leclaire, helping his team defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. With a first showing of that caliber, Washington and their fans already knew they had a special player on their squad.

Later that season, in January of 2006, Ovechkin scored his first=career hat trick. It was accomplished against goaltender J.S. Giguere of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The rookie’s goals were the only three scored in the game and the Capitals took a 3-2 victory.

Goals 100, 200, and 300

Ovechkin hit the century mark in goals scored early in the 2007-08 season. He did so against the New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. His 100th goal was scored in just his 167th game, the fewest games since Eric Lindros in 1995, who did so in 152.

In the 2008-09 season, Ovechkin scored his 200th goal on Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings. The forward became just the fourth player in the NHL to reach the 200-goal mark in four seasons, joining hockey greats Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, and Mario Lemieux. That season, he also became the first Capitals player ever to have three 50-plus goal seasons.

Goal 300 of his career came in 2011 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender James Reimer on a power play. At just 25 years old, he became the sixth youngest player to reach that milestone. The players to hit 300 goals at a younger age than Ovechkin were Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy, Steve Yzerman, and Dale Hawerchuk.

Goals 400, 500, and 600

An empty-net goal in December 2013 marked number 400 for Ovechkin. He netted that one against the Carolina Hurricanes in his 634th game. That season, he won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, given to the league-leading goal scorer. It was a surprising award, as he scored 51 goals, but ended the season with a minus-35 rating, one of the NHL’s worst.

The captain was halfway to 1000 in the 2015-16 season, scoring goals 500 and 501 in a Capitals victory against the Ottawa Senators and goaltender Andrew Hammond. He became the 43rd player in history to reach this mark and the first Russian player to do so. Earlier that season, he had become the highest-scoring Russian in league history, passing Sergei Fedorov.

Goal 600 came in a record-breaking season for Ovechkin— the 2017-18 campaign. He became the first player in 100 years to score consecutive hat tricks to start the season, passed Jaromir Jagr’s record of most regular-season overtime goals, passed Peter Bondra as the franchise’s leading hat trick scorer, and recorded his 500th-career assist. The milestone goal came in less than 1000 games, when Ovechkin scored on Winnipeg Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck. That season, Ovechkin and the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup Championship.

Goals 700 and 800

Though the Capitals lost to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 22, 2020, it was still a special game for their star forward, as he scored career goal 700 in the third period. He was just the eighth player in history to accomplish that feat, joining Mike Gartner, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull, Gordie Howe, Jagr, and Gretzky.