Hockey World Reacts to Alex Ovechkin Reaching 800 Goals

Alex Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to reach 800 goals in his NHL career on Tuesday night. He joins Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky as the other two players to reach that milestone. Ovechkin needs only one more goal to tie Howe and he’s now 94 goals away from tying Gretzky for the all-time goal-scoring record.

Capitals Radio call of Alex Ovechkin's 800th career goal 📻 pic.twitter.com/SUiZVoOSqH

— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) December 14, 2022

Capitals beat reporter Samantha Pell wrote on Twitter, “Alex Ovechkin getting a standing ovation from his teammates in the locker room here in Chicago after he scored a hat trick to reach his 800th career goal tonight.” They celebrated by drenching him when he walked in and you could see just how happy the team was to see him reach the 800-goal marker.

Maryland Sports Blog points out, “He missed his rookie season due to a lockout (likely would have scored 50) Half a season due to a lockout (at least 20 to 30 goals) And had a covid shortened season (10 to 20).” Others have pointed out that he did all of this in a generation when scoring was down, when the goaltenders were better conditioned and more skilled, and when teams played better defense.

Many suggest this makes him the best goal-scorer in the history of the game, even if he never reaches the record, something that looks more and more realistic with every passing contest.

That he hit 800 goals while also scoring a hat trick is exactly how this story should have gone. It’s pure Ovechkin. It was Ovechkin’s 29th NHL hat trick, moving him ahead of Marcel Dionne and Bobby Hull into sixth in NHL history.

Ovechkin now has 18 consecutive 20-goal seasons, the 3rd-longest streak all-time (Howe with 22, Brendan Shanahan with 19).

Next: Capitals’ Ovechkin Has No Interest In a Rebuild