Who, what, where, when, why: Breaking down Ovechkin's 802 goals
Alex Ovechkin was about to be mobbed by teammates with a minute remaining in regulation Friday night, and all he could muster was a half-assed shoulder shrug. He'd just scored goal No. 802 into a vacant net.
Yes, 802 was anticlimactic for a larger-than-life man known for blasting one-timers and mortifying goalies for 18 seasons. But a goal's a goal, and Ovechkin's now second on the NHL's all-time goals list, surpassing the legendary Gordie Howe with that empty-netter against the Winnipeg Jets.
"Going to a bar right now. Hot dog, nachos, you know. Why not?" the always-colorful Ovechkin told reporters following the Capitals' memorable 4-1 victory.
Ovechkin, 37, now needs only 93 goals to break Wayne Gretzky's record - a revered goal-scoring standard many in the hockey world once believed would never be broken. The native of Moscow, Russia, is on pace to score 50 goals for the 10th time in his storied career. He's under contract with Washington for three seasons beyond this one, offering ample runway to reach 895 tallies.
Below is a breakdown of the five Ws - who, what, when, where, and why, though not in that order - pertaining to Ovi's prolific goal-scoring.
Why he's scored so many goals
Some goal-scorers are volume shooters. Others are sharpshooters.
Ovechkin is both.
He's accumulated a record 6,218 shots on goal during his NHL career, which is a mind-bending 2,398 clear of Eric Staal, who's second in shots since 2005-06. The difference between Ovechkin's and Staal's totals is roughly the same as the difference between Staal's and Viktor Arvidsson's, 230th on the list.
The NHL didn't start counting shot attempts until 2007-08. Unsurprisingly, nobody's even in the same universe as Ovechkin's 10,846. (No. 2 Brent Burns is at 7,406 attempts, or 3,440 behind Ovechkin, while No. 10 Evgeni Malkin trails by 5,443.) This unprecedented volume is attributable to his proactive approach. Ovechkin doesn't wait for an ideal shooting lane or angle. He funnels an average of nine pucks to the net a game and sees what happens.
Efficiency is the other separator. Ovechkin isn't the most efficient shooter in league history. Still, he's bagged 397 more goals than Phil Kessel - who's fourth in attempts since 2007-08 - partly because he converts on a higher percentage of his shots on goal. Ovechkin is a 12.9% shooter for his career, while Kessel, an elite sniper with 405 career goals, is a 10.8% shooter.
Ovechkin's generational shot is deceptive and quick off the stick and heavy and accurate in flight. He can outhustle, outsmart, or overpower the goalie or plainly pick a corner with some combination of hustle, smarts, and power.
For all of his gifts, Ovechkin doesn't surpass Howe or earn a career goals-per-game rate of 0.61 without help from playmakers. A total of 106 players have registered an assist on an Ovechkin goal, with longtime Capital teammates Nicklas Backstrom (278 assists), John Carlson (142), Evgeny Kuznetsov (104), Mike Green (70), and Marcus Johansson (57) leading the charge.
The best ability, as they say, is availability, and Ovechkin has a near-flawless attendance record in the NHL. Counting 2022-23, he's played every game in six different seasons and missed five or fewer contests in 10 of the other 12. All told, the self-proclaimed "Russian machine" who "never breaks" has missed 47 games in 18 years - including 27 due to injury and seven due to supplemental discipline for illegal hits, according to CapitalsOutsider.com.
On its own, Ovechkin's durability is commendable. After factoring in his involvement in on-ice collisions, it's nothing short of freakish. Ovechkin has delivered 3,379 hits in his career, and he's surely been on the receiving end of at least half as many. His ironman-like career can be partially chalked up to good injury luck. (How has he managed never to suffer a freak injury?) Yet, in another way, Ovechkin's had crappy luck thanks to two lockouts and a pandemic, which together removed 155 games he could have played in.
One last nugget on the logic-defying longevity: Ovechkin hasn't been on cruise control lately. It took him just 162 contests to jump from 700 to 800 goals, whereas Gretzky and Howe needed 231 and 256 games to do the same.
What types of goals he's scored
Ovechkin has never been a subtle hockey player. He's an assertive skater and body checker who turns on attack mode every time the puck enters his orbit.
Early-career Ovechkin was a heat-seeking missile who'd force his way into prime scoring areas, leaving lunging defenders in his wake. With his patented physicality toned down in recent years, late-career Ovechkin has devoted more energy to bombing pucks from his "office" inside the left faceoff circle.
In both scenarios, Ovechkin's an intimidating sniper relying largely on three types of shots - wrist, slap, and snap. Here's his shot selection since the NHL started tabulating shot types in 2009-10:
- 4,427 total shots (1st in the NHL by more than 1,000 over runner-up Patrick Kane)
- 2,026 wrist shots on goal (2nd)
- 1,104 slap shots (4th)
- 898 snap shots (1st)
- 245 backhand shots (23rd)
- 111 tipped shots (tied for 76th)
- 34 deflected shots (tied for 86th)
- 8 wraparound shots (tied for 378th)
(The breakdown doesn't cover Ovechkin's entire time in the NHL, but it's a sufficient sample capturing 986 of 1,310 regular-season games, or 75% of his career.)
And here's how many goals Ovechkin has scored with each shot type:
- 241 goals off wrist shots (2nd in NHL)
- 161 off slap shots (1st)
- 115 off snap shots (1st)
- 34 off backhands (tied for 21st)
- 24 off tips (tied for 55th)
- 8 off deflections (tied for 64th)
- 0 off wraparounds (tied for 401st)
The main takeaway here is goalies can probably be assured that No. 8 won't attempt a wraparound or crash the net for a tip or deflection, but he's perfected the standard shooting techniques. Ovechkin isn't a pure specialist like slap shot-obsessed Shea Weber or wrist shot-loving Vladimir Tarasenko, but he loves to grip it and rip it. And having not one or two but three deadly options is why he's been such a potent goal-scorer for nearly two decades.
As for which game situations Ovechkin tends to find success, well, he's first all-time in several categories, including power-play goals (292), game-opening goals (137), game-tying goals (140), go-ahead goals (271), and overtime goals (25). He also ranks second in game-winning goals (124), empty-net goals (54), and multi-goal games (163) and sits fourth in even-strength goals (505).
Ovechkin hasn't owned every possible game situation. He's been credited with only five shorthanded goals (though he's skated for just 193 total shorthanded minutes) and two penalty-shot goals (in a dozen opportunities).
Where he's scored his goals
When the Capitals erect a statue of Ovechkin (of course they will), he'll probably be frozen in celebration. As an exuberant celebrator and Stanley Cup champion, there are plenty of applicable moments to depict.
That said, a more appropriate (yet far less exciting) statue might portray Ovechkin waiting for a one-time pass on the power play, standing either straight-legged, like he often does, or mid-windup, like the photo below. This is what most fans see when they close their eyes and think of the Great Eight:
With the man advantage, Ovechkin has dined out from the left circle, his aforementioned "office." The opposition's inability over the years to minimize his one-timer is a testament to Ovechkin's shot. It also opens shooting threats elsewhere - for instance, Carlson from the point or T.J. Oshie in front - every time a penalty killer overcommits to covering Ovechkin.
Not unlike his peers, Ovechkin scores the bulk of his even-strength goals by firing pucks from the slot and crease areas. Heat maps and charts indicate his shot locations skew to the left side of the offensive zone, a byproduct of Ovechkin, a right-handed shot, lining up at left wing throughout his career.
Naturally, Washington tops the list of cities where Ovechkin has scored the most goals. Here's the rest of the top 10:
Who he's scored against, and when
Did you know Ovechkin's scored a record 409 goals on the road (but "only" 393 at home)?
Did you know the franchise Ovechkin scored his 801st and 802nd goals against - the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets - has allowed the most Ovechkin goals of all NHL franchises, with 52? The rest of the top five is filled with Eastern Conference teams - the Tampa Bay Lightning (50), Carolina Hurricanes (47), Philadelphia Flyers (45), and Florida Panthers (43).
Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't appeared in a single game for any of those clubs, but did you know he's allowed 25 Ovechkin goals, the most among the 166 netminders who've surrendered at least one? Others who have given up at least 15 are Henrik Lundqvist (24), Carey Price (22), Kari Lehtonen (22), Cam Ward (19), Ryan Miller (19), Ondrej Pavelec (18), and Sergei Bobrovsky (15).
Finally, did you know Ovechkin has scored 135 goals in the month of March, seven more than he's potted in November, the second-busiest month of the year? Or that Saturday (171 goals), Tuesday (141), and Thursday (135) are the days of the week in which Ovechkin has obliterated the competition?
One more: The Capitals rarely play Sunday, yet he has 80 Sunday goals.
Only 1,446 players in the 105-year history of the NHL have scored 80 goals. It's ultimately a random and trivial stat, but think about it for a moment - even Ovechkin's slowest, least-productive day of the week is prolific. Remarkable.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).