Alex Ovechkin both tied and passed Mario Lemieux for all-time goals on Saturday, scoring a hat trick – giving him 8 goals in his last three games – to give himself 692 in his career, good for 9th place. He also tied Steve Yzerman for 9th place.
While he’ll be sitting a one-game suspension for declining to play in the All Star game, Ovi has a shot at yet another Rocket Richard trophy this year, though David Pastrnak (36) and Austin Matthews (34) are close.
While it’s great seeing Ovi pass Lemieux, the longtime Penguins player is one of the few on the list that set his goals mark in fewer games than Ovechkin. That’s not necessarily a shot at Ovechkin, considering how difficult it is to score goals in this era, but just shows how above and beyond players like Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky scored compared to the rest of the league in their day.
Next up for Ovi to pass: Yzerman with his next goal, Mark Messier with 694 and Mike Gartner with 708.
