In the third period of a Thursday night battle between the Washington Capitals and the Ottawa Senators, future NHL Hall of Famer inched closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. “Alex Ovechkin scored on the PP and is now 19 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record,

One thing to watch: It’s been an awakening for The Great 8, 39-year-old Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, who has 22 goals in 34 games (he scored 31 all of last season). With 875 career goals, he’s now just 19 behind the NHL all-time record set by Wayne Gretzky.

Ovechkin entered this season needing 42 goals to break Gretzky's record of 894 career goals, which has stood since 1999. The Washington captain has 23 goals this season, with 31 games left. This season, he moved into second place with 20 consecutive 20-goal seasons and set a record for the number of goalies he has scored against in his career.

The resurgent Ottawa Senators go for a third straight win when they host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

Thomas Chabot has spent eight of his birthdays with the Ottawa Senators but this one was the best by far. Chabot, who turned 28 on Thursday night, scored in overtime to lead Ottawa past the league-leading Washington Capitals 5-4.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is closing in on the NHL goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 876 goals and needs 19 to break the record.

With his overtime goal on Thursday, Alex Ovechkin has now scored against 179 different goalies in his NHL career — more than any other player.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season in likely his final game in Montreal, helping the Minnesota Wild beat the Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday night. The 40-year-old Fleury, from Sorel-Tracy about 50 miles northeast of Montreal,

"The Great Eight" came up clutch when the Washington Capitals needed him most with a third period tally to close the gap with the Ottawa Senators to 4-3. The goal is Ovechkin's 23rd of the season and his 876th all-time which leaves him just 19 away from breaking Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky's record for most ever (894).

Thomas Chabot scored at 1:46 of overtime and the Ottawa Senators beat the visiting Washington Capitals 5-4 on Thursday night after surrendering a two-goal third-period lead.

We're tracking Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record and trying to determine the game in which he's most likely to break the record.