Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL record of 894 goals. The 39-year-old recorded a hat trick on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers, bringing his season goals tally to 29 and his career tally to 882.
While he's not yet surpassed Gretzky's mark, Ovechkin did make some other NHL history during Sunday's 7–3 win. His latest hat trick was the 32nd of his career, which is the fifth most by a player all-time, and he's now recorded 19 hat tricks after turning 30. No player in league history has more hat tricks after the age of 30 than Ovechkin, who overtook Phil Esposito's record of 18.
Most hattricks from a 30+ year old in NHL history:
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) February 23, 2025
19 — Alex Ovechkin
18 — Phil Esposito
15 — Newsy Lalonde (born in 1887 lol)
12 — Brett Hull
Ovechkin might be peak old head. pic.twitter.com/DATuYPLAjI
Ovechkin scored two goals in a 10-minute span during the second period and added his third of the night late into the third period against an empty Edmonton net.
OVI GOT THE HAT TRICK AND TOOK A LAP AROUND TO FIST BUMP HIS SON 🎩
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 23, 2025
13 AWAY FROM THE RECORD 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Q0LmDdrujU
Now just 13 goals shy of overtaking Gretzky's record, Ovechkin's heroic performance on Sunday left hockey fans in awe, and they sounded off on social media.
Alexander Ovechkin is the greatest of all time.
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) February 23, 2025
Another Alex Ovechkin hat trick. Another couple wheelbarrows filled with hats. Wild. #Caps #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/DSncsApP1v
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) February 23, 2025
Alex Ovechkin scores the hat trick on an empty-net goal with 2:38 remaining in the third period. He scored from 139 feet away in the defensive zone.
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) February 23, 2025
He now has 882 career goals and is 13 goals away from the NHL record.
oh how lucky we are to be alive and able to watch alex ovechkin play hockey with the washington capitals
— dj (@gingsnapz) February 23, 2025
ALEXANDER OVECHKIN HAT TRICK IN THE YEAR 2025
— tay (@capsinfour) February 23, 2025
OHHHHHHH MY GODDDDDDD OVECHKIN HAT TRICK OVECHKIN HAT TRICK
— travis tuthill (@capstrav1s) February 23, 2025
The Capitals will be back on the ice on Tuesday for a showdown against the Calgary Flames, at which point Ovechkin will hope to inch even closer to Gretzky's record.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Ovechkin Made NHL History With Hat Trick vs. Oilers, and Fans Were in Awe.