Alex Ovechkin made history once again and set a new NHL record when he scored twice against the Calgary Flames, notching his 842nd and 843rd goals of his career.
The tallies pushed Ovechkin to 21 goals on the season. And, according to Capitals PR, Ovechkin is the first player of all-time to record 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons to start a career.
Ovechkin is the only player in NHL history to record 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons from the start of his career.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 19, 2024
The NHL tells us that Ovi’s the third player ever to notch 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons in general.
Ovi's 19th (‼️) consecutive 20-goal campaign sees him join a list of just three players to ever achieve the feat. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JdrAvABQJi
— NHL (@NHL) March 19, 2024
And he’s the sixth player to have nineteen 20-goal seasons overall, joining this incredible list.
| Rank | Player | 20 goal seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gordie Howe | 22 |
| 2. | Ron Francis | 20 |
| 3. | Alex Ovechkin | 19 |
| 4. | Brendan Shanahan | 19 |
| 5. | Dave Andreychuk | 19 |
| 6. | Jaromir Jagr | 19 |
Nine different players had seventeen 20-goal seasons including Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Mats Sundin, Mike Gartner, Brett Hull, Jarome Iginla, Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne, Mark Messier during their illustrious careers.
After a slow start to the season, the 38-year-old Ovechkin has caught fire in the second half of the season, notching 12 goals in 20 games since the bye week and returning from Dubai.
“Are we really celebrating Ovechkin scoring his 20th goal of the season in mid-March?” Sportsnet’s Mark Spector tweeted.
Yes, yes we absolutely are. [Begins clapping]
Birthday W for @E_EngelNatzke!!!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/u6TxwPd0Hw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 19, 2024
