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Alex Ovechkin continues to charge up the NHL’s all-time goals scored list.

The Capitals captain entered the 2021-22 season sitting on 730 career goals. That put him 164 tallies back of Wayne Gretzky’s chart-topping 894. There have been questions about whether he can surpass “The Great One’s” number as “The Great 8” hits the latter years of his career. But as Gretzky says, he expects him to — and hopes he does — break the all-time record.

NHL POWER RANKINGS: Ovechkin leads surging Capitals

As Ovechkin moves through the record book, Sporting News breaks down where he stands and where he’s heading as the march to 895 continues in earnest.

All stats updated through Jan. 30.

NHL’s all-time goals leaders

Over the course of 1,487 NHL games, Wayne Gretzky scored 894 goals, which averages out to 0.60 goals per game. By comparison, through Jan. 30, Ovechkin has 759 goals in 1,242 career games, which averages out to 0.61 per game.

Alex Ovechkin’s next 10 opponents

Over the course of his career, Ovechkin has found the back of the net the most against the Lightning and Jets, with 49 goals apiece.

Splits provided by Hockey Reference.

Alex Ovechkin’s goals per game by season

If you think, well, he’s 36, can he keep producing? Ovechkin is like a fine wine; he’s just getting better with age.

Will Alex Ovechkin pass Wayne Gretzky?

Never say never!

Entering this season, Ovechkin trailed Gretzky by 164 goals. He got off to a torrid start, but it was unlikely that he’d keep finding the back of the net as often as he was. A reasonable high end might be the 50-goal barrier, which he hit most recently in 2018-19, though he did score at a 50-goal pace during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

Fifty goals over an 82-game season checks in at 0.61 goals per game. If he plays every game moving forward — unlikely, to say the least — he would need 221 games (as of Jan. 31) to catch Gretzky. That would be sometime during the 2024-25 season.

Of course, if he scores at a blistering pace, he could get there sooner. Ovechkin’s career high in goals per game is 0.79, which he set in 2008-09. With even the rosiest projection, the earliest Ovechkin could catch Gretzky is midway through the 2023-24 season.

It’s impossible to predict health, but needless to say, that’s perhaps the biggest factor in assessing the 36-year-old’s chances of becoming the all-time scoring champ.

How many Rocket Richard Trophies has Alex Ovechkin won?

Awarded to the NHL’s top goal scorer by the NHL Board of Governors, the Maurice Richard Trophy, commonly called the Rocket Richard Trophy, was provided to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens in honor of the Hall of Famer. Over the course of 18 seasons with the Canadiens, Richard led the NHL in goals five times, was the first to score 50 in 50 games (in 1944-45) and was the first 500-goal scorer in league history. He finished his career with 544 goals in 978 games.

The trophy was first handed out following the 1998-99 season to Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who led the NHL with 47 goals.

Ovechkin has captured the trophy a record nine times. He could have won it his rookie year but lost out to the Sharks’ Jonathan Cheechoo by four goals, and he was a goal short in 2009-10.

OVECHKIN: Top seven career goals

Seasons Alex Ovechkin won the Rocket Richard Trophy

The United States was clearly second-best after a 2-0 defeat to Canada north of the border that left the USMNT with plenty of work still to do to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

But head coach Gregg Berhalter didn’t share that same assessment at the end of the 90 minutes in Hamilton, Ontario and with four matches remaining in qualifying.

The USMNT boss felt that the United States “dominated” the match against Canada and that it was only missing the end product. He shared his analysis with media following the match with several points that are sure to have fans talking.

MORE: USMNT player ratings from 2-0 loss to Canada

What did Gregg Berhalter say after the loss to Canada?

Gregg Berhalter was direct from the start of his postmatch press conference, highlighting what he believed to be the positives of the performance.

“I think it was an entire team effort that was outstanding,” Berhalter said in his opening remarks. “We asked them to be dominant, we asked them to embrace the conditions, embrace the physicality of the opponent, and I think we did that and more.

“It’s hard for me to remember a more dominant performance away from home that didn’t produce a result. The result hurts. The performance doesn’t hurt. I’m proud of the guys and the way they competed.”

MORE: USMNT transfer rumors & done deals

“It was a dominant away performance without a win.”

Canada seemed to assert its physical and tactial dominance on the match, absorbing pressure to little harm while Jonathan David and Cyle Larin countered with blitzing breakaways when the space was available. They bullied Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest, and every U.S. ball carrier, as the referee let the teams play.

But again, that’s not how Berhalter saw it.

“They couldn’t handle our physicality, that’s plain and simple,” Berhalter continued when asked about the physical style of play from Canada. “We were running them all over the pitch. When you look at duels won, when you look at our pressing, they were having a very, very hard time dealing with what we were giving them.” 

Unfortunately, when you look at the duels, it doesn’t back up Berhalter’s statement. The United States held a whopping 64% possession, but with that, they only only managed success on 69/139 duels, including 19/43 aerial duels and 15/28 dribbles, and the U.S. still managed to commit 15 fouls to Cnaada’s 12. All told, Canada somehow managed to produce four shots on target to three for the U.S. That’s anything but “dominance” anywhere on the field.

🇨🇦 #DeuxAZero pic.twitter.com/sjjB2JMSyp

— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) January 30, 2022

While Berhalter recognized the quality of Canada’s players in attack, he separated their efficiency from the overall play exhibited by Les Rouges. Here was Berhalter’s take on the game put forth by his opponent, which was physically and tactically superior for large stretches of the match: 

“I don’t think they dominated much of anything,” Berhalter said, “but one thing that separates Canada from the rest of the group is the quality of their strikers to finish a small amount of chances.”

MORE: CONCACAF World Cup qualifying schedule

Despite 64 percent possession and a 13-8 shot advantage – two statistical categories in which the United States emerged superior – the USMNT managed just four shots on target and 0.87 expected goals. There was nothing “dominant” about the USA’s attacking threat, which produced just one truly clear-cut chance, as Weston McKennie’s header at the end of the first half was brilliantly saved by Milan Borjan.

Otherwise, there was little to savor from the match in its entirety. McKennie looked energetic, but he was unable to link up with the attackers in dangerous ways. Christian Pulisic again struggled to create opportunities for himself or others. Gyasi Zardes, surprisingly given the start up front instead of the electric Ricardo Pepi, was wholly ineffective. Even the back line struggled, with Miles Robinson spun around on Larin’s opening goal.

Speaking of the opening goal, the United States seemed shell-shocked by the early home advantage, with the raucus crowd at a high energy level and the United States in panic mode early. But Berhalter would not be drawn into anything other than positivity after a comprehensive border rivalry defeat.

“It’s one of those goals that, besides the scoreline, it didn’t impact the game too much,” Berhalter said. “We were on it, we were dominating, we were playing with a lot of physicality, a lot of speed in our play. Canada had a very hard time getting in a rhythm.”

Berhalter did show a glimmer of realism, stating “In terms of the finishing, I don’t think we created that many clear-cut chances that we should have finished off, so I don’t think today was an issue of poor finishing.” But he went right back to his original theme. “Overall, again, when we talked about what we needed to do win this game, we checked almost all the boxes we needed to, and that I’m pleased with.”

There’s still a great chance that the United States will qualify for the World Cup given the way the CONCACAF standings have shaken out, but at this point, there remain more questions than answers heading towards the big dance this winter. 

USMNT team news

Berhalter also gave worrying updates on the status of two injured United States stars.

Tyler Adams limped off in the 69th minute, replaced by Kellyn Acosta and grabbing at his right hamstring. Berhalter confirmed that Adams has a “slight hamstring strain,” and despite his assertation that they are still assessing his status, it’s very possible that Adams plays no part in the final qualifier in this window. His presence is needed in the final push, and having him healthy for the March qualifiers is essential.

Worse off was Chris Richards, who came off the field with 10 minutes to go despite Berhalter having used all five available substitutions. That left the United States a man down for the final push.

It was for good reason. According to the head man, Richards could be dealing with a broken foot, which would leave him out of action for a significant amount of time. “Chris is likely out with a foot injury, maybe broken, we have to get the x-ray.”

Not the greatest news…..😢

Awaiting more on Chris Richards and Tyler Adams…. #USMNT pic.twitter.com/xny1cBy6E1

— US SOCCER CORNER🇺🇸 (@USMNTCORNER) January 31, 2022

Finally, Berhalter said that Walker Zimmerman was held out of the match against Canada with a hamstring problem, but said he would be available for the Honduras match to round out the window.

United States head coach Gregg Berhalter said the United States “dominated” the match against Canada, but after a 2-0 defeat, many USMNT won’t share the same takeaway.

On the road in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying in a hostile environment thanks to a raucous Ontario crowd and frigid temperatures, the United States flopped to a comprehensive defeat, beaten by a Canada side happy to sit back and absorb pressure before hitting with pace and venom on the counter.

The Canadians played their style in their home, and while defender Miles Robinson claimed nothing that the hosts did surprised the Americans, the United States still always looked a step behind.

MORE: Player grades for USMNT in loss to Canada

While the Canadians proved themselves the class of CONCACAF and moved to the brink of World Cup qualification, the USMNT still has work to do to secure a spot. In fact, a first-place finish is almost certainly out of the question, and the U.S. could even fall adrift in third if Mexico tops Costa Rica.

What we learned from Canada vs. USMNT

1. Issues with Christian Pulisic

Captain America has struggled the past few months at Chelsea, we all know that. Being asked to play different positions and earning only sporadic minutes has clearly taken a toll, that much was evident against El Salvador. But Pulisic is a highly talented player, and fans expected him to find a groove eventually.

MORE: What ails Christian Pulisic?

The opposite has happened. Pulisic had a downright poor game against Canada, unable to produce anything electric in open play or anything even serviceable on set pieces. His one corner delivery to the head of Weston McKennie at the end of the first half was his only special moment of the match.

If the alarm bells weren’t blaring after El Salvador, they are now. There are plenty of theories about the mental, physical, tactical, or other factors that might be at play, but whatever the problem, it is evident that Pulisic is pressing. With just one more match on Wednesday before players fly back to their clubs to continue the season, Berhalter doesn’t have enough time to sort out what is wrong or how to fix the player. That’s on Pulisic. Berhalter’s immediate goal will be to figure out his best way to attack Honduras, and that might not include the Chelsea man.

2. Canada is extremely CONCACAF, but in a fun way

While the United States has been fixated for years on building into an international competitor that can consistently battle Europe’s powers, Canada has simply focused on embracing CONCACAF. It’s worked, to perfection.

Les Rouges are a perfect encapsulation of how to be successful in the North American confederation, producing a winning combination of defensive prowess, counter-attack magic, and a bit of mucking-it-up when necessary. Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies take this cohesive unit to the next level with their world-class talent, but even without one or both, John Herdman has fostered a program built on unity and structure.

MORE: How Canada can qualify for the World Cup

While other inferior CONCACAF sides need to rely on a mix of fouls, yellow cards, and other shenanigans and gamesmanship, Canada has quality and enough pace and flair to justify its undefeated first-place standing in the table.

Who knows if it’ll work at the next level when the Canadians reach Qatar, but in the Octagonal, it has been quite literally unbeatable.

3. USMNT lacked urgency and edge

Head coach Gregg Berhalter was open about the lack of connectivity in his post-match press conference following the 1-0 win over El Salvador just days prior.

“I wouldn’t say this was our best game,” Berhalter said about that win over the Cuscatlecos. “I think that the ambition to play forward and get behind [El Salvador] was missing for the 90 minutes. We had it in spurts, but I think it could have been better.” Berhalter continued later, “I didn’t think our press was as connected as it needed to be, and you could see that we were away from each other for a while, the majority of the group.”

Those same themes cropped up against Canada, and while the El Salvador match could be explained away as a good performance lacking a finishing touch, against Canada the United States produced just 0.87 expected goals. There were precious few chances created, and only Weston McKennie’s header near the end of the first half tested Canada ‘keeper Milan Borjan at all. The Canadians bullied the U.S., putting the onus on a referee who was letting the teams play.

In his role as analyst for CBS’s Paramount+, USMNT legend Clint Dempsey crushed the United States at halftime for having a lack of urgency in the first half, and it didn’t improve at all in the second half. But it’s not just this game that’s lacked any venom from the USMNT, as the El Salvador match proved.

There is obviously a continuing chemistry and urgency deficiency that needs to be rectified, and whether that comes from personnel decisions, a tactical reconfiguration, or a new approach to training, something clearly has to change.