The Ottawa Senators run into the Alex Ovechkin show on Saturday night with a road game in Washington against the Capitals. While last season was all about his ferocious and successful assault on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record (894), Ovechkin remains poised to knock over a couple of more major milestones versus the Senators on Saturday.
When you’re the NHL record holder, every goal you score sets the new standard. But if Ovechkin scores against the Senators on Saturday, he’ll become the only member of the NHL’s 900 goal club.
That’s just a ridiculous number, especially when you consider that only 20 other NHL players in the history of the game even get to wear the NHL’s 600-goal robe (spoiler, there is no robe, but it’s pretty obvious there should be).
Meanwhile, Ovechkin will also be playing in his 1500th career NHL game on Saturday, which is also no small feat. Only 23 men are in that club, and only seven have ever hit that milestone with one team.
Ovechkin will join Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom, who all did it with Detoit. Patrick Marleau went deep with the Sharks, Shane Doan got his milestone with the Jets/Coyotes, and Ray Bourque got his with Boston.
While the season may be young, Ovechkin is the second new member of the 1500 club in 2025-26. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns joined on October 11th and was honoured in a pregame ceremony in Denver on Thursday night.
In case you’re wondering, Chris Phillips holds the all-time games played record for the Senators at 1179 games, one more than Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa’s active leader is Thomas Chabot, who’s right there, nipping at Ovechkin’s heels, just 979 games back.
Ovechkin is in the final season of his five-year, $47.5 million contract, and with 7 points in 8 games, he’s not exactly limping toward his NHL sunset. At 40, he seems to be approaching his future on a year by year basis, but with Howe leading the list with 1687 games, and Marleau being the all-time leader 1779, who would be surprised to see Ovechkin – this hockey freak of nature – set his sights on those records too?
More Sens headlines at the Hockey News Ottawa:
Giroux After Win Over Flyers: ‘It’s Just Another Step, We Still Have A Lot Of Work To Do’
Jordan Spence Reflects On Saturday’s Mistake And His Team’s Support
What’s Going On With Chabot and Jensen In Ottawa? The Early Numbers Aren’t Pretty
Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Reveals Thumb Ligament Was Fully Torn
Senators Walk The Early Season Fine Line Between Disaster And Success
Tkachuk Has Successful Thumb Surgery And Will Miss 6-8 Weeks
