24 – Number of days remaining until the 2016-17 season. But it’s also…
… the difference between the number of goals scored by the Caps’ top goal-scorer (Alex Ovechkin, 50) and the team’s second-highest scorer (T.J. Oshie, 26). That’s the smallest margin for Ovechkin – who has led the Caps in goals in each of his 11 seasons – over a full (82-game) season since 2011-2012, when he had a margin of plus-17 (38 goals to 21 for Alexander Semin).
In his 11 seasons leading the Caps in goals scored, Ovechkin’s margin over the second-place finisher has averaged 20.4 goals per season. Put another way, Ovechkin has 525 goals in 11 seasons; the second place finishers have combined for 301 goals over that span.