Deen's Daily: Goals Galore and Alex Ovechkin's Goals Record Chase

Alex Ovechkin only needed one game to get back on track. After all, most goal scorers are streaky and often score in groups. And Ovechkin might be the strongest of them all.

Although the Washington Capitals stormed out of the gate with five wins in seven games, Ovechkin entered Tuesday's game against the New York Rangers with just two goals. One of them was scored in an empty net. But Ovechkin did what Ovechkin usually does when people start questioning his ability to chase that record: He scored not one, but two goals.

Suddenly the 39-year-old has scored four goals in eight games and is on pace to score 41 goals. Which, strangely enough, would link him to Wayne Gretzky. He needs 42 to break the record.

I debated all summer whether it would break the record this season or whether it would carry over into the 2025-26 season. And to be honest, I still find it difficult to predict. But what we saw on Tuesday against the Rangers was Ovi at his finest. He fired a wrist shot past Igor Shesterkin to open the scoring before racing to the top of the net a few minutes later and restoring Washington's lead for his second goal. He also had five shots on goal, six other shot attempts and two hits. The Caps dominated the Rangers, beating them 46-19.

What makes me more inclined towards him hitting the mark this season is the way Washington's general manager completely rebuilt the roster around Ovechkin in the offseason. A more competitive team increases Ovi's chances of achieving the goal. New additions Matt Roy, Jakub Chychrun, Taylor Raddysh, Andrew Mangiapane, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakub Vrana, Brandon Duhaime and Logan Thompson have completely changed their look and suddenly they're 6-2-0 to start the year.

Speaking of goals, there were some crazy final results on Tuesday.

The Seattle Kraken went to the Bell Center and crushed the Montreal Canadiens, defeating them 8-2, led by defenseman Brandon Montour's hat trick. And the Senators, who barely reached 401 in Ottawa, dominated at home against the St. Louis Blues, winning 8-1 thanks to two-goal performances from Tim Stutzle, Adam Gaudette and Brady Tkachuk.

Colorado hockey now

After the Avalanche's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, I wrote about what the first ten games looked like overall for Colorado. My takeaway post, available to CHN+ subscribers, covers all the major storylines and observations from the first segment of the season.

Colorado Hockey Now is on YouTube. CLICK HERE to register.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey now: The Penguins hosted Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and lost 5-3. Fleury got to play one last time against his former team – the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2003 – in what was expected to be his final game in Pittsburgh.

San Jose Hockey now: The Sharks rallied from a 4-1 third-period deficit to beat Utah on Monday. The following day, they doubled up on the LA Kings with a final score of 4-2 and picked up their second win of the season. Defenseman Jake Walman scored three points in each game. I really still have no idea what Steve Yzerman did when he fired Walman and gave him a second-round draft pick in the offseason. Just a terrible, terrible trade.

Detroit Hockey now: Speaking of releasing a defenseman, the Red Wings sent Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday in exchange for a third-round draft pick. While the Red Wings have a surplus of NHL-ready blueliners, Utah needs help on defense. Both Sean Durzi and John Marino are out until at least February. Michael Kesselring also missed Monday's brutal defeat against the Sharks due to illness.