If Alex Ovechkin manages to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record, there may be some detractors out there who point to his empty-net goals total and say it cheapens the accomplishment.
Ovechkin already has a snappy comeback for that.
“Every game, every goal is hard to score in this league,” Ovechkin said after scoring an empty netter against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday. “If you want to try, take your skates and go six-on-five.”
The retort garnered laughs from the Toronto media.
Ovechkin’s tally against the Leafs was his NHL record 60th empty netter and the 869th goal of his career, bringing him to within 25 of Wayne Gretzky for a share of the NHL’s all-time goals record.
Ovechkin’s late-career success helping close out games may ultimately propel him to the finish line. The Capitals’ captain has scored 35.5 percent of his empty-netters (21) in the last four seasons — a responsibility that began in earnest under head coach Peter Laviolette. Ovechkin scored a career-high 9 during the 2021-22 campaign and followed that up with 6 empty netters in 2022-23, 3 in 2023-24, and 3 in 2024-25 thus far.
“I will say this, everyone talks about empty netters and whatnot, but I’ve seen some of the best defensive players play — scoring on the empty net is, a lot of coaches put their best offensive players in those situations because they can anticipate where the puck’s going,” Spencer Carbery said of Ovechkin’s late-game usage. “And that’s a prime example right there. He knew Pro was going to get that puck, and so he knows he can ice the game right there. So those are the benefits of having highly — yeah, maybe not quote-unquote a ‘defensive specialist’ — but highly intelligent offensive players playing five-on-six, and he’s as good as it gets when it comes to empty netters.”
Ovechkin has ultimately made his hay by consistently scoring (nine 50-goal seasons), reinventing his five-on-five game multiple times in his career, and being the greatest scorer of all time on the power play. He is also one of the most durable players in NHL history, missing only 51 out of a possible 1,520 games due to injury.
In fact, Ovechkin would likely be approaching 1,000 career NHL goals if not for two lockouts and the coronavirus pandemic robbing him of 155 extra games (82 games in 2004-05; 34 games in 2012-13; 13 games in 2019-20; 26 games in 2020-21).
So, if Ovi manages to break the record, and you think his empty netters demean his accomplishments, just know you’re wrong.
And, P.S., Gretzky had 56 empty netters in his career.
