Auston Matthews will look to score again for the Maple Leafs (34-20-2) after ending a six-game drought in his return from the 4 Nations Face-Off in a 6-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Ovechkin is on the verge of becoming the NHL's all-time goals leader, and he can pass Gretzky's mark of 894 before the end of season. The Capitals standout currently has 883 career goals after scoring Washington's only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 880th, 881st and 882nd career goals to record a hat trick and move 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record and give the Washington Capitals a 7-3 victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers,

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is closing in on the NHL goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 884 goals and needs 10 to tie and 11 to break the record. Ovechkin entered the season 42 short of breaking the regular-season record by “The Great One” that had long seemed unapproachable.

Alex Ovechkin scored the 884th goal of his NHL career to move 10 away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record. The Washington Capitals captain beat fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning with four minutes left in the third period on Saturday.

While Gretzky’s status is secure, his scoring record is not. At the end of February, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin trailed Gretzky by just 11 goals, putting him in line to potentially pass Gretzky by the end of the 2024-25 season.

At this point, Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's long-standing goals record is inevitable. Ovechkin is only 11 goals away from reaching the 895 mark and being crowned the greatest scorer in hockey history.

Each Monday throughout the 2024-25 NHL season, ESPN and NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes will provide fans with a guide of games that will be nationally televised. Today, a look at games for the 21st week of the season.

The Capitals lost their third game in a row for the first time all season despite Ovechkin scoring his 884th career goal.

Ovechkin beat fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning with four minutes left in the third period after getting stopped twice by him earlier.