MOSCOW, 7 February. Russian superstar forward and Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin scored another goal Friday in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers, leaving him just 15 goals short of Wayne Gretzky's all-time record.
Ovechkin now has 26 goals this season. His total puts him in the top 10 in the NHL, despite missing 16 games early in the season with a broken leg. He now ranks second in NHL history with 879 goals, trailing only the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky of Canada, who has scored 894 goals in his NHL career.
Canadian-American hockey star Wayne Gretzky played for four different NHL teams from 1979 to 1999 and scored more goals than anyone else in history during his 20-year career. Gretzky, who is now 64 years old, is considered by many to be the greatest player in NHL history.
Thirty-nine-year-old Ovechkin is under contract with the Washington Capitals until 2026.
Ovechkin signed a contract with the NHL's Washington Capitals in 2004. The Russian superstar led the Caps to a Stanley Cup in 2018, the only one of his career.
The Washington Capitals will play their next game on February 9 when they face visiting Utah.
In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie", as his fans call him, won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships, which he complemented with two silver and four bronze medals at the World Championships.
During a rally of supporters of the US President-elect at the Capital One Arena in Washington on 20 January, US President Donald Trump described Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin as a "great player".
TASS / gnews.cz-jav
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