Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is now the NHL’s all-time leader in shots on goal.
Ovechkin’s shot with 11 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the third period at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night gave him 6,210 shots on goal in his career in 1,309 games. That tops the total of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, who had 6,209 in his 1,612-game NHL career.
The NHL started tracking shots on goal in the 1959-60 season. Ovechkin and Bourque are the only two NHL players to eclipse 6,000 career shots on goal.
The 37-year-old left wing has led the NHL in shots on goal 11 times, including in 10 of Ovechkin’s first 11 seasons.
Ovechkin remains stuck on 800 career goals, one in back of Gordie Howe for second (801) in career goals, while continuing to chase Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals in 1,487 games.