It is no secret at this point that Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record. “The Great One” ended his illustrious career with 894 goals in the NHL. Ovechkin is closing in on his record as the games go on. After Sunday night's game with the Vegas Golden Knights, Ovechkin sits at 866 thanks to a huge individual performance.

Ovechkin scored a hat trick against the Golden Knights. His performance helped fuel a red-hot Capitals team to victory on Sunday. As the games go along, it appears as if Ovechkin has a legitimate chance to break the goal-scoring record. It will be something fans will monitor as the 2024-25 campaign without a doubt.

The Capitals also received big goals from Jakob Chychrun and Jakub Vrana. In the end, Washington's high-flying offense withstood more than 40 shots from an equally offensively-inclined Golden Knights team. The Capitals moved to 12-4-1 while handing Vegas just its second loss on home ice through 10 games in the Sin City so far.

Golden Knights have fun with Alex Ovechkin's first goal

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Golden Knights lost to the Capitals on Sunday night. However, it was not all doom and gloom. Alex Ovechkin's first goal of the season opened the scoring around six minutes into the game. Washington took a 2-1 lead into the locker room as Chychrun scored later in the period.

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The Golden Knights players certainly did not like being scored on. However, the Vegas social media team decided to have fun with it. “Alex Ovechkin's 1 millionth career goal makes it 1-0,” the Golden Knights' wrote on social media in an update for their fans.

It's a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ovechkin's incredible goal-scoring record. To put his performance in a more factual perspective, this was his 176th career multi-goal game, according to the Capitals' public relations team. As some may guess, only Wayne Gretzky has more multi-goal games in league history. “The Great One” finished his career with 189 multi-goal games.

Ovechkin has played rather well as of late for Washington. His hat trick on Sunday broke a short two-game scoreless drought. But in November, he has five goals and 10 points through eight games. His performance has helped his team win five of their first eight games in the month of November.

Ovechkin is well on his way to true hockey immortality. He already has locked up a spot in the Hall of Fame once his career ends. Claiming the goal-scoring record from Gretzky will give Ovechkin a space of his own atop the list of greatest goal-scorers in NHL history.