Alex Ovechkin scored the 930th goal of his NHL career on October 11, his first of the season he has announced will be his last. Four marks are still within reach: 950 career goals, 1,700 points, 1,600 games and the league's combined goals record. Washington lost that game 5-3 to Seattle, and Ovechkin's role in his 22nd season already looks smaller than the one he held a year ago.

The goal that opened the count

The goal came at 16:47 of the first period and gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead. Aliaksei Protas forced a turnover behind the net, the puck reached his brother Ilya at the bottom of the right circle, and Ilya fed Ovechkin in front for a snap shot over Joey Daccord's glove.

Both assists came from his linemates. According to NHL.com's report on the game, it was the first time Ovechkin had scored a goal assisted by two brothers, and his first against Daccord, who became the League-record 190th different goaltender he has scored against. It was the Capitals' third game in five days.

Seattle tied the game with 11 seconds left in the first period, then took a 3-2 lead on Frederick Gaudreau's goal at 13:24 of the second. The Capitals tied it again 46 seconds into the third period. Seattle scored on the rush at 14:33 and added a breakaway goal at 17:20 to finish it 5-3. The Kraken are 4-2-0, and Washington is 3-2-0.

Ovechkin did not play in the preseason because of a lower-body injury he sustained in training camp, and he did not score in the Capitals' first four games. Last season followed the same pattern: he also waited until his fifth game.

Four marks, and what each one needs

The career totals below come from the NHL's player record for Ovechkin, read on October 12, 2026.

MarkWhere he standsWhat it needs
950 career goals93020 goals
1,700 career points1,68911 points
1,600 career games1,57822 games
Most combined NHL goals1,00710 goals

The fourth line gets the least attention and it is the most interesting one. Ovechkin has 930 regular-season goals and 77 in 161 playoff games, for 1,007 in the NHL. Wayne Gretzky scored 894 in the regular season and 122 in the playoffs, a combined 1,016, which the league cites as the record Ovechkin is chasing. Nine more goals would tie it and ten would pass it, and either can happen in the regular season alone. Ovechkin has 147 points in those 161 playoff games.

Four empty navy rings sit beneath simple hockey, star, calendar and combined-total icons, above the exact label 4 MILESTONES.
At the NHL player-record snapshot read on October 12, 2026, Ovechkin was 20 goals from 950, 11 points from 1,700, 22 games from 1,600 and 10 goals from passing Wayne Gretzky's combined NHL total. The empty rings mark targets, not achievements.

What last season's pace says about 950

Twenty goals in 79 games is a rate of about a quarter of a goal per game. Ovechkin scored 32 in 82 games last season, a rate of 0.39, and 44 in 65 games in 2024-25. The season before that brought 31 goals in 79 games. The 950 mark therefore needs a lower rate than he managed in any of the past three seasons. Nothing about a 41-year-old season is automatic, and Washington has more forward depth around him.

Why 1,000 goals is not on the list

A fifth round number is not a realistic target on his previous scoring pace. Ovechkin would need 70 goals for 1,000, and the Capitals have 79 games left in an 84-game season. That is a rate of 0.89 goals per game. His best scoring season, 65 goals in 82 games in 2007-08, came at 0.79, and he turns 42 in September 2027.

A smaller role in a longer season

The Capitals have changed how they use him. In the home opener on October 7, Ovechkin played 5:11 of Washington's 7:13 of power-play time and only 8:54 at even strength, and he left the ice during a five-on-three because it was the second unit's turn.

His power-play totals have moved with the role. Ovechkin has 331 career power-play goals, but only five came last season, when he played all 82 games, and 14 in 65 games the year before. He also has 141 career game-winning goals and 27 overtime goals.

Coach Spencer Carbery said the two discussed the approach before Ovechkin decided to return for another season. "We know when he gains confidence and pucks start to go in for him, that's a good thing, and it can snowball," Carbery said after the Seattle game.

Washington added forward depth in the offseason, including Alex Tuch, and the line of Dubois, Tuch and Wilson produced three goals and three assists in the home opener against Pittsburgh. Ovechkin also forced the turnover that led to the opening goal in that game, and he still took the larger share of Washington's power-play time that night.

That usage is the context for the other three marks. Eleven points and 22 games ask less of him than 20 goals do, and the games mark is mostly about staying healthy.

What has not been decided

The schedule is set: Washington plays at Carolina on October 13 and hosts Montreal on October 14, and the regular season runs to April 10, when the Capitals finish at Philadelphia. Everything else is open.

Ovechkin's games played are not guaranteed, and he has already lost a preseason to a lower-body injury. Whether the Capitals reach the playoffs affects his goals total, because playoff goals count toward the combined record, although the nine goals he needs to tie Gretzky can all come before the postseason. As of the October 12 standings snapshot, Washington was 3-2-0 and 16th in the league by points, with 17 goals for and 14 against.