Ovechkin reaches 30 goals for 20th time with Capitals

Alex Ovechkin continued his remarkable run of consistency by reaching 30 goals for an NHL-record 20th time in his 21 NHL seasons when he scored twice for the Washington Capitals in a 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. 

The 40-year-old left wing scored his 30th goal at 18:35 of the first period. Matt Roy drove to the net and drew Flyers goalie Dan Vladar out to the left post, leaving his backside open for Ovechkin's tap-in.

He then scored his 31st of the season at 3:47 of the third period. He received a backhand pass from Connor McMichael and put a diving snap shot past Vladar from the bottom of the right circle to make it 5-3.

“Obviously, it’s a huge game and you can see, I think, everybody was on the same page," Ovechkin said. "Everybody set the tone right away. Huge hits, huge plays. And obviously, it’s a big number.”

Ovechkin became the fourth player in NHL history to score 30 goals at age 40 or older, joining Gordie Howe (44 in 1968-69, 31 in 1969-70), Johnny Bucyk (36 in 1975-76), and Teemu Selanne (31 in 2010-11).

Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 31 goals in 75 games this season to increase his NHL-record career total to 928. 

His 20 seasons with at least 30 goals are three more than Mike Gartner, who is second in NHL history. Gartner reached 30 goals 17 times during his 19 NHL seasons before retiring in 1998.  

“He’s still got it, I guess. It's incredible," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. "It's been so cool. I just continue to learn more and I'm always just inspired. Like, it's just crazy as a teammate, you're inspired. Everybody in here sees what he's doing, and it drags everybody into the fight. He leads in so many different ways. I've said pretty much everything I can about the guy ... but I think everyone in here, when it's when it comes down to him, it's bigger than  the individual on the team. It's so fun to watch him lead and go out there and hit and score. One way to bring everyone into the fight is to have a 40-year-old captain that’s running over guys and scoring goals.”

Ovechkin, who was selected by Washington with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, has failed to reach 30 goals only once in his career. He scored 24 goals in 45 games during the 2020-21 season that was abbreviated to 56 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ovechkin also holds the NHL record for 40-goal seasons with 14 and is tied with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons with nine. He is second in 20-goal seasons with 21, behind Howe, who had 22.

Ovechkin broke Gretzky's record for most regular-season goals (894) when he scored his 895th on April 6, 2025, against the New York Islanders. Ovechkin became the second player with 1,000 goals in the NHL -- regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs combined -- when he scored against the Colorado Avalanche on March 22.  

Including his 77 playoff goals, Ovechkin now has 1,005 total NHL goals, behind only Gretzky, who retired in 1999 with 1,016.

“I’m still chasing my first (30-goal season)," Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "I’ll have to play to like 50 to beat that, but it seems like every game he’s beating a record. So, he's the model of consistency in goal-scoring. You don't get to a thousand-something goals by having down years, but it's still impressive to see him every day and at practice and in the dressing room and on the ice out there.”