The only players to score 500 goals in fewer games were Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693).
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Since entering the league a decade ago in the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin has scored 147 more goals and tallied 46 more points than any other player.
Ovechkin became the 43rd player to join the 500 club and the fifth fastest, needing just 801 games to reach the mark.
Per Elias, the Panthers’ 12-game winning streak is the longest in National Hockey League history among teams who did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the previous season.
Ovechkin extended his arms and clapped to acknowledge the fans and then later gave a wave from the bench as play was set to resume with the Capitals leading 5-1.
Marcus Foligno also scored for Buffalo, and Linus Ullmark made 42 saves.
Ovechkin potted a pair of goals – the first of which was the 500th of his career – in Sunday’s win over the Senators. It’s a plateau that not very many players reach, and, at 30, Ovechkin still has plenty of time to reach even more milestones.
Devils 2, Wild 1: Jon Merrill put visiting New Jersey ahead in the third period with his first goal of the season and Cory Schneider made 17 saves to help the Devils end a season-high three-game losing streak. That score was Parise’s first against his former team.
Ovechkin added No. 501 midway through third, beating a defender with a sweeping deke at the top of the zone before smacking a shot past Hammond for the 7-1 advantage.
After the last away game against the New York Rangers, when Ovechkin scored twice to get to the 499-goal mark, the home crowd in the Verizon Center was expecting nothing less than a record-breaking game from Alex the Great.
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The Washington Capitals played a tribute video for their captain after he scored his 500th goal. Should he reach the 51 goals he’s on pace for, it would be the seventh season of his career of 50 or more pucks hitting the back the net in a single season.
