Alex Ovechkin Set Another NHL Record As He Chases All-Time Goal-Scoring Mark

Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Greetzky's all-time goals record, and he pulled within 21 goals of passing the Great One with an overtime game-winner on Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.

However, that goal turned out to be a record-breaker.

That goal — which was scored on Senators rookie netminder Leevi Merilainen — meant that Ovechkin has now scored on more goalies than any other player in NHL history.

Another clutch goal brings his career total to 874.

"You have to know when he’s on the ice he’s going to shoot everything like he did today," Merilainen said after the game, which was only his 8th in the NHL.

Until Thursday night, Ovechkin was tied with Jarmoir Jagr for the record at 178 different goalies.

This kind of blew my mind. Of course, it helps to have played for nearly two decades during an era in which the league has had 30 to 32 teams. Goalies also tend to play fewer games than they used to. No one is dropping 70+ game seasons like Martin Brodeur used to, which means more goalies are hopping between the pipes for the Great Eight to score on.

Of course, someone had to be on the receiving end of more Ovechkin lamp-lightings than anyone else, and that someone is a future Hall of Famer in his own right, Marc-Andre Fleury.

Of course, Fleury spent the bulk of his career in Pittsburgh, with the Capitals and Penguins being major rivals over that stretch and in the same division for a big chunk of it too (remember the old Southeast division and how bad it was some years?).

This is all well and good, but of course, we're all focused on the big record. 

The Capitals have 37 games left this season, and Ovechkin has 21 goals in 29 games. If he can stay healthy and continue scoring at that pace, we should see Ovechkin pass Gretzky's record by the end of this season.