The 39-year-old winger took a pass from Rasmus Sandin on a 2-on-1 breakaway and fired it past rookie Leevi Merilainen, the record 179th goaltender he's scored on.

The Great Eight is within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record of 894, which Gretzky reached on March 29, 1999, against the New York Islanders. Ovechkin began this season with 853 career goals.

With his overtime goal on Thursday, Alex Ovechkin has now scored against 179 different goalies in his NHL career — more than any other player.

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has scored goals against more unique goalies than any player in NHL history, passing Jaromir Jagr.

After a scoreless 60 minutes, of course it was Alex Ovechkin to lift the Capitals in the three-on-three extra period.

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.

It's no small feat, and looking from the outside in, one would wonder: how does that impact a team's structure? And critics have, with some questioning if it's a distraction to the Capitals dressing room.