The GR8 Chase: Predicting When Alex Ovechkin Breaks Wayne Gretzky's All-Time Goal Record
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is five goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL goal record with odds increasing for it to happen versus the New York Islanders
The biggest storyline of the NHL season has by far been the GR8 Chase with Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin on the precipice of passing hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals record. There is nine games left in the Capitals season and Ovechkin is within five goals from breaking the record after scoring versus the Sabres this past Sunday.
The Russian winger now has 37 goals, and betting odds for the record to be broken this season have dropped drastically to -170 which means if you haven't taken it already like we suggest, you may have missed your last opportunity to take the bet at a bargain. However, today we look to outline a couple other options that you still can take to get in on the chase.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
In our last post about the GR8 Chase, we said to take the odds while you could at -136 and like we predicted the odds have continued to drop due to Ovechkin staying hot as the Capitals were heading into favourable matchups. Washington is still dominating with the league's best offence and seventh-best defence plus have the third-easiest remaining strength of schedule, according to Tankathon.
The case is starting to look more and more likely as they will play against bottom eight defences in their remaining games like the Blackhawks, Penguins and Bruins as well as two bouts with the Blue Jackets.
They will also face off twice against the Hurricanes, who is one of the top teams in the East but Ovechkin has his second-most career goals against. We don't see a ton of value in betting the record to be broken now but we can take a guess as to who it'll be against.
The Capitals will have a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday with games versus the Bruins and Hurricanes, which should give us the ability to pencil in a goal or two there. We will need just four more goals after that and Washington will return home on Friday to take on one of the league's worst defences in the Blackhawks. A home matchup versus a Chicago team that has allowed a league-worst 83 goals over their last 20 games should spell for at least one goal for Ovi.
That takes us into next week with three goals to go and after a Sunday matchup versus the Islanders, Washington will get a lengthy four-day break before facing off against Hurricanes for a second time on Thursday. This game could be the most crucial as a much-needed goal here would leave him with two left and four games left to do it.
A pair of matchups versus the Blue Jackets should provide at least one goal and will leave us with one more to go with two matchups left versus the Islanders and Penguins.
Everyone is speaking into existence that Ovechkin will break the record in front of his longtime rival Sidney Crosby when taking on the Penguins and as much as the sports world would love to see it, I expect he gets the job done versus New York.
A random Tuesday night on the road in the Big Apple wouldn't be the most romantic setting for the record to be broken but could provide a massive spectacle with many flocking to the city, hoping to see Gretzky's record broken.
Ovechkin to break the record versus the Islanders or Penguins is listed at +490 and +600 odds respectively and both could be taken at not a high number and should provide a decent return if either hit.
The Blue Jackets have the highest odds at +280 but with how Ovechkin has slowed down with four goals over his last nine games, I don't expect him to break the record earlier then the final two games. The record being broken in New York should give us the best case scenario to cash in on some attendance bets for notable people attending the game.
Wayne Gretzky to be in attendance for the record-breaking goal isn't available on FanDuel but a longshot bet for someone who could be is former teammate Jaromír Jágr. The Hockey legend is still playing actively at 53 years old for the Czechia-based team he owns, Rytíři Kladno, but has been known to miss time and could again to see what will be a one-of-one legendary hockey moment.
Jagr and Ovechkin have been known to have a very close relationship with Jagr even sending a video to Ovechkin after he became the all-time leading goal scorer for European-born players and congratulating him on the achievement.