Alex Ovechkin is NHL's sixth player to log 700 assists, goals

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for recording his 700th career assist in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Capitals' Alex Ovechkin becomes sixth player in NHL history with at least 700 assists, goals

By Austen Bundy | Last updated 10/15/24

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin is well known for his goal-scoring prowess, entering the 2024-25 campaign with 853 tallies and nearing Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky's all-time mark of 894 red lights.

However, Tuesday night it was Ovechkin's passing that stole the spotlight. He notched two assists in Washington's 4-2 win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Ovechkin's historic dish to forward Alexei Protas put Washington up 3-1, part of an offensive flurry in the second period that saw the Caps score three goals in 3:07 — the second-fastest they've scored as many goals since Nov. 30, 2023 (three goals in 3:05).

Even Pro knew that was one #Gr8 dish pic.twitter.com/q4KOmHHvZX
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 16, 2024

The 38-year-old Russian's elite distribution earned him a membership to the 700-700 club — recording at least 700 career goals and 700 assists. Ovechkin became just the sixth player in league history to do so, per SportsCenter.

Alex Ovechkin is only the sixth player in NHL history with at least 700 goals and 700 assists in his career @Capitals pic.twitter.com/koDYUk3PA0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 16, 2024

Ovechkin joined former greats Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Jaromir Jagr and Gretzky on the illustrious list. His 700 assists are good for 60th on the all-time league leaderboard.

The 20-year veteran also became the second player in franchise history to reach the 700-assist benchmark, joining teammate Niklas Backstrom (762).

Among active players with at least 700 assists, Ovechkin's 853 goals puts him 261 ahead of the next-nearest challenger (Sidney Crosby, 592 goals).

Keep racking up milestones, big guy#ALLCAPS | @LeidosInc pic.twitter.com/SkVliNwpsb
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 16, 2024

In addition to all that, Ovechkin is on a rare list as the sixth player ever to average at least 0.60 goals per game and 0.49 assists per game in his career. That list includes Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, Pavel Bure and Auston Matthews.

Hockey assists don't just get awarded to the player who passed the puck to the scorer (primary assist); they also go to the player who made the pass to the primary assister (secondary assist).

Of Ovechkin's 700 career assists, 427 of them are primaries (61 percent), including his 700th on Tuesday. Among the seven active players with at least 700 career assists, Ovechkin's percentage of primary assists ranks fourth best, per Capitals PR.

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