Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin set a new NHL record on Tuesday as he netted his 40th goal of the season during a 7-6 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It is the 13th season of Ovechkin's NHL career in which he's hit the 40-goal mark, setting a new record and surpassing Wayne Gretzky's total of 12 campaigns with 40 or more goals. Ovechkin moved second on the all-time goalscorers list earlier this season, and is hunting down Gretzky's incredible overall total.
Ovechkin was tied with Gretzky heading into Tuesday's clash, but wasted no time as he broke the record inside the first period - making it 13 seasons with 40 or more goals. But despite leading the Blue Jackets by two goals throughout the majority of the game, the Capitals lost 7-6 after overtime.
Before the game, Ovechkin was already honoured with a 20-minute celebration for moving second on the all-time goalscoring charts, as he climbed above Gordie Howe's total of 801 earlier in the season. But by the end of the first period he had another accolade to celebrate, surpassing Gretzky's total of 40-goal seasons.
"Tonight was special day for me, for the whole organisation, for fans. And, unfortunately, we lost," Ovechkin said after the game. "For 10 minutes in the second period, we kind of stopped playing and gave them an opportunity to come back."
Ovechkin is now on 820 NHL goals, and still has some way to go if he is past Gretzky's leading total of 894. But the Capitals star has still played 147 games less than Gretzky, meaning he's well on course to break the all-time record.
Gretzky is considered by many as the greatest NHL player of all-time, although Ovechkin is certainly making a case for himself in that conversation. While Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues and the New York Rangers, Ovechkin has been with the Capitals his entire career.
Ovechkin was drafted first overall by the Capitals back in 2004, and the rest as they say is history. 1,340 NHL games, 820 goals and 659 assists later, he's chasing down the all-time goals record and already has many others under his belt.
The 37-year-old has been as loyal as it gets with the Capitals, but went without a single Stanley Cup success for 14 years before his resilience finally paid off. The Capitals made it to the Stanley Cup finals in the 2017/18 season and beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 in the series to clinch their only ever title since becoming a franchise.
