Alex Ovechkin is an exceptional goal-scorer. He is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s great record, and he doesn’t have many goals left to achieve it. The Capitals’ captain has 886 goals (!) on the counter and he only has nine left to score before breaking the record.

Washington (42-14-8), which has won four in a row, is tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the NHL with 92 points. Selanne believes Ovechkin’s record chase is fueling the Capitals, and their success as a team is helping him as well.

Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin is on the verge of history. Ovie stands just nine goals shy of Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record, and naturally, the NHL wants as many eyeballs as possible on the chase for No.

Gretzky broke out of his mini-slump with his 799th goal and three assists in a 7-0 win against the Ottawa Senators. Three games later, he scored Nos. 800 and 801 in a 6-6 tie against the San Jose Sharks.

We're tracking Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record and trying to determine the game in which he's most likely to break the record.

While in the Hall of Fame’s famed Stick Storage Centre, which holds more than 4,000 sticks, the oldest dating to 1875, Ovechkin was fascinated with an old, wooden one with a long flat blade. It belonged to Maurice Richard, who held the NHL goal record with 544 before Howe passed him on Nov. 10, 1963.