Ovechkin reaches 30 goals for NHL-record 18th season

Alex Ovechkin set the NHL record for most 30-goal seasons with 18 when he scored for the Washington Capitals in a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old left wing has scored at least 30 goals in all but one of his 19 NHL seasons. He did it in each of his first 15 before scoring 24 goals in 45 games in 2020-21, when the League played a 56-game schedule because of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ovechkin had been tied with Mike Gartner, who scored 30 goals in 17 of his 19 NHL seasons before retiring in 1998.

The 30th goal came at 19:52 of the second period. T.J. Oshie collected the puck at the Capitals' defensive blue line and banked it off the left boards to Ovechkin, who scored on the rush with a wrist shot from high in the left face-off circle to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

“Oshie [made] a tremendous play on the blue line, and I was kind of 2-on-1,” Ovechkin said. “I knew there was maybe 15 or 20 seconds left in the period, and I tried to shoot the puck and hope it goes in. I’ll take it.”

Selected by the Capitals with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Ovechkin is second in NHL history with 852 goals, 42 behind Wayne Gretzky (894) for the League record.

The Capitals posted a video on X of Gartner congratulating Ovechkin.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on 18 30-plus goal seasons," Gartner said. "I know we shared the record for a very brief time, and I’m pretty appreciative of that, but now you have it all by yourself. There are many records that you have in the National Hockey League and there’s one big one that you’re still going to get. Good luck. All the best.”

Ovechkin's chances of reaching 30 goals this season appeared slim after he scored eight in his first 43 games, but he heated up after that and has scored 22 goals in his past 32 games.

As for why his game has come along in the second half of the season, Ovechkin said: “I don’t know. I just play my game. Try to use chances, try to find rebounds, try to create chances for my linemates. Right now, we all know how important it is to get points and stay in the battle. It’s [a] fun time of the year.”

Ovechkin also owns the NHL record for most 40-goal seasons with 13 and is tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons with nine.

“He finds a way to score,” Capitals forward Dylan Strome said. “He has a great shot. He had a 2- or 3-on-1, and the goalie was maybe playing a little pass. When he sees a spot in the net, he’s going to put it home. Nice milestone, and yeah, I mean, we obviously needed the goal. It helps a lot.”

Jaromir Jagr, who scored at least 30 goals 15 times during his 24 NHL seasons before returning his native Czech Republic to continue playing in 2018, is the only player other than Ovechkin and Gartner with more than 14 30-goal seasons.

Ovechkin, Gartner (1979-80 to 1993-94) and Jagr (1991-92 to 2006-07) share the NHL record of 15 consecutive 30-goal seasons. Ovechkin and Gartner, who played his first 10 seasons with Washington, are the only players to score at least 30 goals in each of their first 15 NHL seasons.

Gartner’s streak ended when he scored 12 goals in 38 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, when teams played a 48-game schedule. He scored 35 goals with the Maple Leafs in 1995-96, and 32 with the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996-97.

“It’s pretty big," Ovechkin said of the 30-goal seasons. "It’s consistency, obviously. Health. My linemates and teammates who find me out there, who find me in an open spot, open ice."

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report