So heading into the Washington Capitals' game against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, EPSN+, SN360, SNE, SNP, ALT, NBCSWA, NHL.TV), Ovechkin's motivation is to help them rebound after losing their past two games and not the two goals he needs to reach the milestone.
"Right now, we're focusing on the two points," Ovechkin said after the Capitals morning skate. "If it happens, it happens. If not, we're just going to move forward."
Ovechkin, who has 698 goals in 1,139 regular-season games over 15 seasons, is seeking to become the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 goals, joining Wayne Gretzky (894), Gordie Howe (801), Jaromir Jagr (766), Brett Hull (741), Marcel Dionne (731), Phil Esposito (717) and Mike Gartner (708). Before being held without a point in the past two games, the 34-year-old forward was on a remarkable run scoring 14 goals in seven games to pass Teemu Selanne (684), Mario Lemieux (690), Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694) to climb from 12th to eighth on the NHL's all-time list.