Ovechkin Sets New Standard for Goal-scoring in the NHL

Alex Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to score 900 career goals, reaching the milestone on November 5, 2025 in a 6 to 1 Washington Capitals win over the St. Louis Blues.

The 40 year old captain, now in his 21st season, buried a spin around backhand from the right circle at 2:39 of the second period after the puck caromed off the glass to him.

The tally also counted as his 138th career game winning goal, another NHL record.

Ovechkin had struggled to open the campaign, scoring just twice in his first 12 games before the historic breakthrough.

The goal extended a legacy he cemented on April 6, 2025, when he passed Wayne Gretzky's long standing mark of 894 career goals.

Calling it a huge number that no one had ever reached, Ovechkin said being the first player to do it made the moment special, though he has not decided whether to play beyond his final contract year.

Ovechkin reached 900 goals on November 5, 2025, seven months after passing Gretzky's 894, then answered a two goal start to the season by scoring 32 more across all 82 games at age 40 NHL.com. Washington missed the playoffs anyway, traded for Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, and re-signed their captain July 2 on a one year deal carrying a $4.25 million cap hit The Washington Times. His twenty second season opens at 929 regular season goals and 1,006 including playoffs, ten short of Gretzky's combined record, a mark the league's own site expects to fall.