895 goals is a massive number. Unfathomably huge. Simply getting to that number, surpassing the greatest offensive talent the league has ever known, and standing alone atop the mountain? That’s a pretty wild, supremely impressive, and absolutely absurd achievement for one Alex Ovechkin.
And speaking of absurd, numbers like that can be sliced and diced to pretty comical effect…let’s take a look, shall we?
- Ovechkin became the Capitals’ franchise-leading scorer on April 2, 2015 when he passed the great Peter Bondra with goal #473. The 422 goals he’s scored since would put him atop the franchise leaderboard for 14 other teams.
- The Capitals have scored 4,806 goals since Ovechkin’s debut season; Ovechkin’s 895 goals account for 18.6% of that total offensive output.
- He would make up at least 20% of the total goals for 20 different teams since 2005-06, including 45.3% of the Golden Knights’ goals, 94.3% for Seattle…and 412.4% for the brand new Utah Hockey Club franchise.
- He would make up at least 20% of the total goals for 20 different teams since 2005-06, including 45.3% of the Golden Knights’ goals, 94.3% for Seattle…and 412.4% for the brand new Utah Hockey Club franchise.
- There is a bigger gap between Ovechkin’s goal total and the second-highest among active players (Sidney Crosby with 622) than between #2 and #22 (Mark Scheifele, 335).
- Patrick Kane is currently 6th on the active goal list with 491; Leon Draisaitl is 10th, with 399. Ovechkin has more goals than the two of them combined.
- Patrick Kane is currently 6th on the active goal list with 491; Leon Draisaitl is 10th, with 399. Ovechkin has more goals than the two of them combined.
- If Ovechkin hadn’t scored a single goal until he turned 30, he’d still be 9th on the active list; if he didn’t score a single goal after he turned 30, he’d be sixth on the active list.
- Ovechkin has scored more goals (420 and counting) just in his 30s than these players did in their entire career:
- Adam Oates
- Kirk Muller (sorry, coach!)
- Peter Forsberg
- Paul Kariya
- Martin St. Louis
- Pavel Datsyuk
- Henrik Sedin
- Daniel Sedin
- And…Phil Kessel
- Months before surpassing Gretzky’s overall total, Ovechkin passed 99 for the most road goals with 403, and currently sits at 456. If he never scored a goal at home, he’d still have more career goals than Eric Staal and Rod Brind’Amour.
- Five of his 895 goals were scored shorthanded…more than Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who have four apiece.