Alex Ovechkin is closing in on something the sport has never seen before. The numbers still come, the moments still matter, but the weight behind them has changed. Every goal now feels like a countdown, like a quiet build toward something bigger. And on Friday night in Columbus, that feeling only grew stronger.
Can Alex Ovechkin Go Where Even Wayne Gretzky Never Did?
The Washington Capitals captain scored his 899th career goal as he took one more step toward a number that once seemed untouchable.
GOAL NUMBER 899 FOR ALEX OVECHKIN! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/yq9b7RBVrD
— NHL (@NHL) October 25, 2025
What makes this goal different isn’t the number itself, it’s what comes next. Ovechkin now sits one shy of becoming the first player in NHL history to reach 900 career goals, extending a record that already pushed him past Wayne Gretzky earlier this year.
His goal, early in the third period, came in classic Ovechkin fashion. Dylan Strome won a clean draw, slid the puck his way, and within a blink, Ovechkin fired a low wrist shot past Jet Greaves from the right circle. That made it 2-0 Washington, and it turned out to be the winner in a 5-1 victory over the Blue Jackets.
John Carlson and Connor McMichael each finished with a goal and an assist, while goaltender Logan Thompson was excellent again with 34 saves. Justin Sourdif and Tom Wilson added the others for the Capitals, who have now won six of their last seven to move to 6-2-0.
Columbus dropped to 3-4-0, though the game was tighter than the score suggests. Denton Mateychuk scored for the second straight night, but the Jackets couldn’t break through on Thompson.
Carlson opened the scoring late in the second period on a seeing-eye shot through traffic. A few minutes into the third, Ovechkin doubled the lead, and then Sourdif made it 3-0 just over a minute later. The Jackets got one back midway through the period, but two late power-play goals from Wilson and McMichael sealed it.
Ovechkin’s 899th Brings Him Closer to Hockey’s Next Great Milestone
His next chance comes Saturday at home against the Ottawa Senators, which also happens to be his 1,500th career game, a setting that feels made for history.
At 38, Ovechkin hasn’t slowed much. He’s reportedly been managing a lower-body injury since training camp, but you wouldn’t know it by his impact. The goal in Columbus tied him with Gretzky for the most third-period goals ever (336), a fitting stat for someone who’s made a career out of late-game moments.
It was also the 184th different goalie he’s beaten, another stat that quietly shows how long he’s been doing this.
If he scores again on Saturday, it’ll mark one of the most remarkable milestones the NHL has ever seen, 900 goals and counting, with no signs that Alex Ovechkin is ready to stop chasing history.
