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Alex Ovechkin ties Maurice Richard for goals, now at 999 points

Should we call today Milestone Monday?

Moments after Roberto Luongo took sole possession of fifth all-time in goalie wins, Alex Ovechkin accomplished some pretty impressive tasks, and he did with some excellent timing.

With a power-play goal, Ovechkin scored the 544th goal of his already outstanding career, tying Maurice Richard for 29th all-time in NHL history. To make things even better, Ovechkin tied the guy whose name adorns the trophy he’s basically owned during his career, and he did it in Montreal, where “The Rocket” etched his legend. He did so in a 4-1 win for the Washington Capitals against the Montreal Canadiens, checking off just about every box.

Speaking of which, Ovechkin is on the verge of a lot of great things, really.

In the near future, he can take sole possession of 29th in goal-scoring, but it goes deeper than that. With three points on Monday, Ovechkin now stands at 999 career points.

(Some might chuckle that he’s climbing these ranks soon after Nicklas Backstrom nabbed his 500th career assist. Ovechkin is always stealing the headlines, eh?)

In case you’re interested, here are some of the greats in range of being passed by Ovechkin in the next season or so:

Goals

20. Mark Recchi - 577 goals
21. Mike Bossy, Joe Nieuwendyk - 564
24. Mike Modano - 561
25. Guy Lafleur - 560
26. John Bucyk - 556
27. Ron Francis - 549
28. Michel Goulet - 548
29. Richard and Ovechkin - 544

As you can see, Ovechkin can really move up the ranks soon. It’s worth noting that, after Recchi, every other scorer is at 601 goals or higher.

Of course, Ovechkin found a way to inject some humor into all these honors:

Points-wise, Ovechkin is now alone at 84th in NHL history. Brian Propp is at 83rd with 1,004, so the accolades are likely to accumulate for “The Great 8.”

And, hey, there’s still that first Stanley Cup that Ovechkin and the Capitals are aiming for ...