The summer of 2018 was eventful for Alex Ovechkin to say the least. In addition to partying with the Stanley Cup nonstop across two continents for three months, Ovechkin became a father when his son was born on August 18 (one day short of 8/19 unfortunately). However, there was no hangover for the Great 8 as he began right where he left off with 4 goals in his first 3 games. Fighting for the league lead in goals for the first two months, December turned out to be his best month, scoring back to back hat tricks for the second year in a row and going on a career-best 14-game point streak and scoring 29 goals through his first 32 games, the most through that many games in his career - not bad for a 33-year old. He would cool off somewhat after that, since scoring at a 74-goal pace and shooting 22.5% over a full season isn't exactly sustainable even for someone as great as Ovi. The hot start did pave way to another historic season for Ovechkin, as he chased yet another 50-goal season. He achieved that on March 30th as he scored number 50 against Tampa Bay for his 8th such season. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy have more (9 each). For perspective Gretzky and Bossy combined accounted for 18/82 (22%) 50-goal seasons over the time they scored theirs (1977-89). Ovechkin has scored 8/22 (36%) over his same timeframe. On top of that, he set a couple more records this year too. He led the NHL in goals for a record 8th time, breaking a tie with Bobby Hull. And on a smaller note, with a goal vs. the Islanders on March 1st, he became the first player to hit 45 goals 10 times. Yes, you read that right - he has more 45-goal seasons than Gretzky, Richard, Bossy, Lemieux, or anyone else to play an NHL game. Hard to believe he's only got 2 more years left on his contract. Enjoy while you can. - we probably won't see anyone like him again for quite some time.
Sorry about the first goal not being 60fps, couldn't find a version that wasn't zoomed in for some reason.
1 - October 3, 2018 vs. Boston Bruins - 0:00
2 - October 4, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - 1:39
3 - October 10, 2018 vs. Vegas Golden Knights - 2:19
4 - October 10, 2018 vs. Vegas Golden Knights - 3:12
5 - October 17, 2018 vs. New York Rangers - 4:13
6 - October 17, 2018 vs. New York Rangers - 5:23
7 - October 22, 2018 vs. Vancouver Canucks - 6:21
8 - October 22, 2018 vs. Vancouver Canucks - 7:12 - Nicklas Backstrom's 600th career assist
9 - November 1, 2018 vs. Montreal Canadiens - 8:09
10 - November 1, 2018 vs. Montreal Canadiens - 8:52
11 - November 5, 2018 vs. Edmonton Oilers - 9:44
12 - November 7, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - 10:32
13 - November 16, 2018 vs. Colorado Avalanche - 11:21
14 - November 19, 2018 vs. Montreal Canadiens - 12:17
15 - November 19, 2018 vs. Montreal Canadiens - 13:01
16 - November 23, 2018 vs. Detroit Red Wings - 13:46
17 - November 24, 2018 vs. New York Rangers - 14:38
18 - November 26, 2018 vs. New York Islanders - 15:23
19 - November 30, 2018 vs. New Jersey Devils - 16:01
20 - December 4, 2018 vs. Vegas Golden Knights - 16:44
21 - December 6, 2018 vs. Arizona Coyotes - 17:35
22 - December 8, 2018 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - 18:06
23 - December 11, 2018 vs. Detroit Red Wings - 18:51
24 - December 11, 2018 vs. Detroit Red Wings - 19:50
25 - December 11, 2018 vs. Detroit Red Wings - 20:46 - 21st career hat trick
26 - December 14, 2018 vs. Carolina Hurricanes - 22:40
27 - December 14, 2018 vs. Carolina Hurricanes - 23:31
28 - December 14, 2018 vs. Carolina Hurricanes - 24:23 - 22nd career hat trick, second career time with hat tricks in consecutive games
29 - December 15, 2018 vs. Buffalo Sabres - 25:22 - Career-high 14-game point streak
30 - January 3, 2019 vs. St. Louis Blues - 26:16
31 - January 10, 2019 vs. Boston Bruins - 27:16
32 - January 10, 2019 vs. Boston Bruins - 28:11
33 - January 14, 2019 vs. St. Louis Blues - 28:58
34 - January 22, 2019 vs. San Jose Sharks - 30:03
35 - January 22, 2019 vs. San Jose Sharks - 31:03
36 - January 22, 2019 vs. San Jose Sharks - 31:56 - 23rd career hat trick, first in a loss
37 - January 23, 2019 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs - 32:59
38 - February 11, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Kings - 33:55
39 - February 14, 2019 vs. San Jose Sharks - 34:51
40 - February 17, 2019 vs. Anaheim Ducks - 35:45
41 - February 18, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Kings - 36:52
42 - February 18, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Kings - 37:48
43 - February 21, 2019 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs - 38:44
44 - February 23, 2019 vs. Buffalo Sabres - 39:37
45 - March 1, 2019 vs. New York Islanders - 40:31 - 10th 45-goal season, most all-time
46 - March 6, 2019 vs. Philadelphia Flyers - 41:37
47 - March 16, 2019 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - 42:30
48 - March 16, 2019 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - 43:29
49 - March 26, 2019 vs. Carolina Hurricanes - 44:26
50 - March 30, 2019 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - 45:24 - 8th 50-goal season
51 - March 30, 2019 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - 46:47
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