Records are meant to be broken. And this NHL season just might be the time for Alexander Ovechkin to surpass Wayne Gretzky in all-time goals. Indeed, after the Washington Capitals’ recent game against the Florida Panthers, the captain of the home team is just 17 goals away from making history. The manner in which he also secured the goal was questionable for many fans, but an empty netter is still counted towards the official goal tally of the scorer.

However, the Russian NHL star isn’t only chasing Gretzky’s record. Indeed, certain statistics have dropped, showcasing that Ovechkin secured another record with his recent goal and is closer to another NHL legend, which he might achieve in a few more seasons.

So what’s this record about? ESPN revealed this statistic on their X post, stating, “Alex Ovechkin has now scored 25 goals in a season for the NINETEENTH time in his career. Only Gordie Howe (20) has more 25 goal seasons in NHL history.” First Wayne Gretzky, and now Gordie Howe? How many records will the Caps’ captain continue to threaten?

Coming to the current season, many saw Alexander Ovechkin’s potential. Indeed, he has been one of the most consistent goal scorers in the NHL for quite a long time. In his 20-season-long NHL career with the Caps, from the 2005-06 season to the 2024-25 season, every campaign, except the 2020-21 season, he has secured more than 25 goals.

That is no regular feat, as many seasons out of them have been filled with ups and downs for the Russian ice hockey star. Even in the campaign where he missed out on 25 goals, he secured 24 goals in 45 games, and that particular season was plagued by COVID-19, for which the officials decided to shorten the number of games that happen in a regular season.

Currently, Alexander Ovechkin is 39 years old and is on his 20th NHL season with the Caps. He has been loyal to them since the draft, and the team has also shown a similar interest in having him on the team. However, the future is always uncertain, and there are a lot of factors to consider if he wants to continue playing more seasons to break this particular record of Howe.

In the current season, Ovechkin has played 37 games and scored 25 goals, 14 assists, and 39 points, which is not bad for a player of his age. However, the recent goal that he scored against the Panthers also generated a bit of controversy in the community. But in no time, a certain journalist came to defend the Russian ice hockey star, portraying a certain statistic on these empty net goals.

Alexander Ovechkin receives shield of protection from journalist

The Washington Capitals absolutely destroyed the Florida Panthers with a score of 6-3. But if you didn’t watch the match, then you will never know how exciting the final goal of the game was from Ovechkin. Indeed, there were only a few seconds till the end of the third period, but before even reaching the blue line of the Panthers, Ovie got full puck control and gave a tap to it as it made its way to the net, which had no goalie defending it.

Indeed, the Panthers wanted to go full attack in the final minutes of the game, so they decided on an empty net. And this became a huge opportunity for Alexander Ovechkin. However, since his 878th career goal was an empty netter, he immediately received backlash from the community. Watching this, a journalist on X shared his thoughts, stating, “Yes, 6 of Alex Ovechkin’s 25 goals are empty-net goals. Just like 7 of Mikko Rantanen’s 26 goals are empty-net goals. Also, 6 of Kirill Kaprizov’s 23 goals are empty-netters. And 5 of Adrian Kempe’s 24 goals are empty-netters.”

Tom Gulitti made an intriguing point, adding some major goal scorers in the current season. Indeed, they also have their fair share of empty net goals, and with this message, he wanted to convey that empty netters are considered as goals under the player’s name, and it is in the rulebook of the NHL.