Entering the 2024-25 season, Ovechkin needed 42 goals to break Gretzky’s record of 894 career tallies. After scoring goal No. 875 on January 23, Ovechkin now needs just 20 goals to pass Gretzky for the NHL’s record.

We're tracking Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record and trying to determine the game in which he's most likely to break the record.

The Great Eight is within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record of 894, which Gretzky reached on March 29, 1999, against the New York Islanders. Ovechkin began this season with 853 career goals.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is already one of the most heralded players in NHL history. The legendary forward already has a ton of records on the NHL history books, but there's one more still to go that could put him in the pantheon of all-time greats.

It's no small feat, and looking from the outside in, one would wonder: how does that impact a team's structure? And critics have, with some questioning if it's a distraction to the Capitals dressing room.