Alex Ovechkin has hit some major milestones while playing for the Washington Capitals. In the 2015-16 season, he tallied his 500th goal. This season, Ovi hit both 500 assists and 1100 points.
When he takes to the ice Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ovechkin will etch his name into another franchise record: Most games played.
On October 5, 2005, Ovechkin’s career with the Capitals began after being the team’s first overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Ovechkin made his highly anticipated NHL debut against the Blue Jackets and scored two goals.
12 years, 4 months and 21 days later, Ovechkin will eclipse Calle Johansson with his 984th game played for the franchise. Johansson played for the final time with Washington on April 5, 2003 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Johansson’s mark of 983 games with the Caps franchise has stood for almost 15 years.
During his 13-year Capitals career, Ovechkin has become one of the greatest players and goal-scorers of all time. He’s also been one of the most durable players despite playing a bruising style that includes leveling 2,600 hits.
According to the Capitals PR, Ovechkin has missed only 29 career games. Ovechkin has missed 19 of those contests due to injury, 8 due to suspension, 1 for bereavement, and another for a team suspension (oversleeping). Ovechkin has never missed a Capitals postseason game (97 games).
Capitals PR posted some additional facts about Ovechkin’s latest milestone game.
- Since Ovechkin’s 2005-06 rookie season, he has missed 29 total games, ranks eighth in games played in the NHL and fourth in hits (2,600). He has never missed more than six consecutive games in his career.
- The Capitals are 538-323-123 (.609 points percentage) with Ovechkin in the lineup and 13-14-2 without him in the lineup (.483 points percentage) since 2005-06.
- Since the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (596), points (1,105), power play goals (223), power play points (429), game-winning goals (100), overtime goals (22), the NHL’s all-time mark) and shots (4,808).
- Ovechkin currently leads the NHL in goals (38) through games played Feb. 24 and the Capitals in points (70p, 38g, 32a), which is tied for the seventh most points in the NHL through games played Feb. 24.
- Ovechkin sits at 596 career goals, and if he scores four goals within his next 16 games, he could become the fourth player in NHL history to record 600 career goals in under 1,000 games.
With just four goals left to score to reach 600, it feels as though it is only a matter of time before we’re celebrating another incredible Ovechkin achievement.
Ian Oland also contributed to this article.
