Alex Ovechkin Is The Greatest Goal Scorer In League History. Columbus Blue Jackets Fans Have A Front Row Seat And Should Enjoy It While It Lasts

Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin, aka Alexander the Great, The Great 8, The Russian Machine, or simply Ovi. Those are the names he's been known as over the years. But soon, you'll need to add Alex Ovechkin aka, "The Greatest Goal Scorer In NHL History" to the list. 

Last night, the Metro Division foe Ovechkin became the only player in NHL history to hit 30 goals in a season 18 times. He's the only one on that list. He passed Mike Gartner who he was tied with. Wayne Gretzky only did it 14 times. 

Alex Ovechkin has punished the CBJ over the years. Starting on October 5, 2005, when Ovi scored his first NHL goal, against none other than the Columbus Blue Jackets

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fT_yMmBZsQ[/embed]

Since Ovechkin has come into the league, the Jackets are 18-22-8 against the Washington Capitals. And since the teams were joined together in the Metropolitan Division in 2013, the CBJ are 14-19-6.

In the 48 games that Alex Ovechkin has played against the Blue Jackets, he has a stat line of 25-14-39, with 16 pp points, is a -12, and has 9 total game-winning goals. If you compare his stats against the Jackets to other teams, he actually has the lowest ppg total against the CBJ than any other current Metro team at .81. All other teams, he's right around 1.0 ppg. His -12 is also the worst among any Metro team for his career. And don't forget, he's played 25 fewer games against the Blue Jackets than the nearest team on the list, the Rangers. That's at least something positive when it comes to his play against Columbus.

Ovechkin is sitting at 852 goals for his career, just 42 goals shy of Gretzky's 894. Ovechkin had just eight goals through the first 43 games this season but has since piled on 22 in his last 32 games to hit the 30-goal plateau. He could very well beat the record at the end of next season, but most likely he will do it during the first month of the 25-26 season. 

One of the biggest "What Ifs" with Ovechkin is the seasons in which there were no games or missed games. He was drafted in 2004, but due to the labor issue that caused a missed season, he played in Russia. Then there was the next labor issue in 2012-13 where he only played 48 games. And then who could forget the COVID-19 ending season of 2020, which finished at 68 games. The following year was shortened and he only played in 50 games. He essentially missed 2 full seasons plus, and had it not been for those missed games, he probably would've eclipsed Gretzky's record by now, and THAT is the reason why many consider him the goal-scoring GOAT of the NHL. 

Watching Alex Ovechkin over the years has been a pleasure because these types of scorers don't come around too often. Many people will argue that Ovechkin, even without breaking the record is already the greatest goal-scorer of all time, me included. 

There is another player who will probably be chasing this record as well, and that's Auston Matthews. Matthews currently has eight seasons of 30+ goals, all in his first eight seasons in the league. His 66 goals this season are the most in a season since Alex Ovechkin's 65 in the 2007-08 season. He also has a pair of 60-goal seasons in his short career, while Ovechkin only did it once. Ovi however, has eight 50-goal seasons on his resume and just missed two more when he scored 48 and 49 in a season. 

Much like Sidney Crosby, as much as it pains CBJ fans to watch these guys punish their team every time they play, he has been fun to watch. Alex Ovechkin has been my favorite player to watch in this league since the day he came in and seeing him finally come close to the record keeps my attention on the Capitals. 

I say enjoy watching him while it lasts, even if he scores against Columbus every game. You don't get to see many of these players come into the league that often. The same goes for Auston Matthews. Yes, he is a Jacket killer, but in about 10 years when he is on the verge of retiring, and possibly beating the goal-scoring record set by Ovechkin, you might beat yourself up for hating him for so long and not paying attention to his greatness. 

What's Next - Columbus stays in Florida to take on the Panthers on Thursday.

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Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.