Alex Ovechkin becomes just sixth player ever to record nine 40-goal seasons
As much a staple to Alex Ovechkin’s brand as ripping powerplay clappers from the left circle and passionate celebrations, is the 32-year-old’s ability to consistently put up 40-goal seasons.
With a tally against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stadium Series game at the US Naval Academy on Saturday, he now has nine.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 40th goal of the season to give the @Capitals a 2-1 lead in the #StadiumSeries.@ovi8 is the sixth player in NHL history to record nine seasons with at least 40 goals. pic.twitter.com/nVwLhrgt3Z
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 4, 2018
Ovechkin’s goal put him in some royal company, as No. 8 joined Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Mike Gartner as the only players in NHL history to score at least 40 in a season at least nine times. Gretzky reached the mark 12 times, while Lemieux and Dionne are just one season ahead of Ovi with 10. Most notable about Ovechkin’s feat is the fact he’s played most of his career in one of the lowest-scoring eras in the league’s history, while the others on the list played in some of the highest-scoring periods ever.
Ovechkin was able to grab a record to call his own on Saturday, too:
Alex Ovechkin sets a record with goal No. 40: It's the 7th time in his career he was the first player to 40 goals in a season. He had been tied with Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull at six times for most in NHL history. (@ESPNStatsInfo)
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 4, 2018
The three-time MVP now sits just two shy of 600 career goals.
