There is no questioning the greatness of Alex Ovechkin. He may not have a Stanley Cup -- yet -- but he is without a doubt the most dynamic scorer of the post-2005 lockout era. Now, Ovechkin joins 42 other individuals across the history of the NHL that have hit the mark of 500 goals in their careers.
In a perfect storm, Ovechkin netted two goals against the Rangers in the Capitals 4-3 dramatic overtime win on Saturday to set up the narrative for Sunday. At home, in front of a sold out crowd against a middling Senators team, there was no doubt, scoring Washington's fifth goal of the evening.
This isn't the first milestone Ovechkin has broken this season. It took a bit to get there, but Ovechkin broke Sergei Fedorov's record for the most goals by a Russian-born player with career goal No. 484 back in November.
With 801 games played since starting his NHL career in 2005, no other player has scored more goals than Ovechkin. He's bested 50 goals six times in his career so far and is on pace to break that mark again this season.
From his office on the power play, Ovechkin made no mistake on the quick wrist shot that put the Capitals up on the Senators 5-1 in the second period.
500 pic.twitter.com/QgC5RE26po
— Stephanie (@myregularface) January 11, 2016
Still nine months shy of his 31st birthday, Ovechkin joins elite company in being just the sixth youngest player in NHL history to net the 500 goal mark. The others? Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, Steve Yzerman, and Wayne Grezky.