The key facts
- Ovechkin has gone without a goal for an eighth consecutive NHL game; Washington lost to Minnesota 1:5
- This season — 1 goal in 13 games, 1,007 career goals in total
- Nine goals remain to reach Wayne Gretzky's record (1,016 goals including the playoffs)
Goalless streak reaches eight games
Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin once again went without a goal, extending his goalless streak to eight consecutive games. This happened in the game against the Minnesota Wild, which the capital's team lost 1:5. This was reported by Life.ru.
Season statistics and the chase for Gretzky's record
In the current regular season, the 41-year-old forward has only one goal in 13 games played. According to the outlet, Ovechkin's scoring output is especially significant in light of his historic chase for the record for most goals including playoff games. In total, the Russian hockey player has scored 1,007 goals in the NHL and holds second place on the league's all-time goal-scoring list including the playoffs, behind Wayne Gretzky, who has 1,016 goals. Thus, Ovechkin needs to score nine more times to match the Canadian's mark.
Final season and growing attention to every game
The outlet notes that the current season is expected to be the forward's last in the National Hockey League, which is why every upcoming game takes on special significance for fans. Against this backdrop, the prolonged goalless streak stands out as a notable contrast: with nine goals remaining to reach the record, every game without a goal pushes the potential achievement further away. Earlier in the same Life.ru article, another achievement by a Russian hockey player was also mentioned: goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov won ten consecutive games from the start of the season with Carolina, notching his milestone victory in a home game against Winnipeg (7:0) and becoming the third goaltender in league history to begin a season with ten straight wins.
