Ovechkin set to begin final step, new goal of breaking Gretzky's record

WASHINGTON --Alex Ovechkin already knew what was next before Mark Howe stated it clearly at the conclusion of a video congratulating him for passing his late father, Gordie Howe, for second on the NHL all-time goals list.

"Now it's time to set new goals for No. 99," Howe said, speaking on behalf of the Howe family.
As much as the Washington Capitals forward scoring his 801st and 802nd NHL goals to tie and overtake Gordie Howe in a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday was the end of a journey toward history, it also was the beginning of another one toward No. 99, Wayne Gretzky, whose reign as the NHL record holder with 894 goals is officially on notice.
Ovechkin is approaching it with his usual caution, however.
"Step by step, guys," he said. "Still a long way."
"Step by step" has become Ovechkin's simple but appropriate mantra during his relentless climb toward a record he and many others used to believe never would be broken. The final step, which begins Tuesday when Ovechkin and the Capitals face the final team Gretzky played for, the New York Rangers, at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG 2, NBCSWA+, ESPN+, SN NOW), might prove to be the most difficult.
Although Ovechkin has been remarkably consistent and durable throughout his 18 NHL seasons, playing in 1,310 of a possible 1,357 regular-season games all with Washington, he is 37 years old. Eventually, Father Time will catch up with him like everyone else.
But it hasn't yet.
The left wing has scored 22 goals in the first 36 games of the season, putting him on pace to finish with 50. It would be his 10th 50-goal NHL season, breaking the League record he shares with Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He tied the Hall of Fame pair with 50 goals last season, becoming the oldest player in NHL history to hit the mark.
So Ovechkin scoring the 93 goals he needs to surpass Gretzky doesn't seem farfetched.
"When you see what Alex does on a daily basis, I think anything is possible," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "The way he plays, the way he scores, the way he shoots the puck, his love for the game, his passion and purpose for the game, anything is possible. It's going to take a lot, but I think they picked the right guy to try and knock it down."
Gretzky has held the record since scoring his 802nd goal against Vancouver Canucks goalie Kirk McLean on March 23, 1994, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Kings. He scored 92 additional goals during the next five seasons with the Kings, St. Louis Blues and Rangers before retiring in 1999.
According to NHL Stats, Ovechkin's 0.61 goals per game average this season matches his rate for the past 10 seasons. If it continues, he will need 153 regular-season games to get to 895 goals, putting him on schedule to pass Gretzky roughly halfway through the 2024-25 season.
"This was the greatest record ever," said Kings president Luc Robitaille, a Hockey Hall of Fame forward who is 13th in NHL history with 668 goals and assisted on Gretzky's 802nd.
"I don't think anybody thought it was going to be broken at that time. Just like I don't think anybody thought Wayne's record was going to get broken. … But a few years ago I started looking at Alex and then you think, 'Well, if he doesn't get hurt, that's the one guy that could beat that one record, one of Wayne's 60-plus records.'"
Ron Francis is second in NHL history in assists with 1,249, but never was a threat to Gretzky's record of 1,963 before retiring in 2005. Francis, now general manager of the Seattle Kraken, didn't think back then that anyone would get close to Gretzky's goal record either, but the Hockey Hall of Fame forward noted that there was a similar view after Gordie Howe pushed it to 801 before retiring in 1980.
"There's always somebody that comes along," Francis said. "Like, nobody thought Wayne was coming and then Wayne comes. Certainly, Ovi has had an incredible career with the amount of goals he's been able to score. It seems like everybody knows where he's going to be, but you still can't stop him. So kudos to him for doing what he's doing, and he's got a real good chance of setting the record."
From watching Ovechkin when he was a longtime scout for the Detroit Red Wings to meeting with him three times during the past two months, Mark Howe doesn't perceive Ovechkin to be a player who would settle for finishing second. In fact Howe, himself a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman, said he told Ovechkin when they sat down together in Philadelphia in early December that he expects him to pass Gretzky too.
"I said, 'I'm counting on you to do it,'" Howe said. "If I was a betting man, I would bet he's going to catch Wayne."
Robitaille believes Ovechkin's chase of Gretzky's record will be "the greatest thing that could happen for the game."
"It makes fans aware," Robitaille said. "It's incredible. I think it's amazing what he's done, and I really believe he's going to do it."
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane doesn't think Ovechkin will stop at 895 goals, though, or even 900.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he does it for another four or five years, wouldn't be surprised if he got to 1,000, to be honest with you," Kane said. "He's had a tremendous career and he keeps getting it done."
Ovechkin's Capitals teammates have become used to him achieving some kind of milestone almost every game, but he has reached another level the past two weeks. He got to 800 goals with a hat trick against the Blackhawks on Dec. 13. Then, following a four-game drought, he tied and passed Gordie Howe against the Jets on Friday, netting 801 in the first period against David Rittich before reluctantly scoring an empty-net goal for 802 with 1:00 remaining in the game.
The ride figures to be even more exciting when Ovechkin closes in on Gretzky, potentially two years from now.
"He's done this so many times, it seems like maybe we're a little numb to just how historic, and I would almost say unthinkable, it is," Capitals defenseman John Carlson said earlier this month. "Seven or eight years ago nobody even talked about it, even though he was clearly on the same trajectory he is now. Then it went from, 'Maybe he can,' to 'Holy crap! This is coming.'"
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this story.