NHL NOVEMBER 5, 2025 – OVECHKIN CONTINUES TO MAKE NHL HISTORY, THIS TIME WITH GOAL NO. 900

Alex Ovechkin made NHL history once again as he became the first player to score 900 goals – a marker that also stood as the winner in Washington’s highest-scoring game this season. He stands atop the League in a number of categories when it comes to goals, including power play (326), game winners (138), overtime (27) and game opening (150).

• Ovechkin scored his 22nd goal against the Blues and tied Jamie Benn for the second most versus that franchise among active players, behind Patrick Kane (28). Ovechkin has played significantly less games against St. Louis than both of those players (29 GP; Benn: 58 GP, Kane: 76 GP). The Capitals captain owns a 0.76 goals-per-game average against the Blues, which is tied with Winnipeg/Atlanta (0.76) for his third highest versus any franchise – the list is topped by Utah (1) and Minnesota (0.81).
• Logan Thompson earned his sixth win of the season and became the fifth goaltender over the past 20 years to allow two or fewer goals against in nine consecutive appearances to begin his campaign, joining Andrew Hammond (13 GP in 2014-15), Brian Elliott (12 GP in 2011-12), Josh Harding (9 GP in 2013-14) and Nikolai Khabibulin (9 GP in 2011-12). Only two netminders have more wins so far this season: Scott Wedgewood (8) and Karel Vejmelka (7).

CELEBRINI ECLIPSES 20 POINTS, TIES McDAVID FOR LEAGUE-LEAD IN SCORING

Macklin Celebrini (1-2—3) factored on half of his club’s six goals to surpass the 20-point mark with his fourth three-point game of the season and helped the Sharks become the first team to defeat the Kraken in regulation at Climate Pledge Arena in 2025-26. Celebrini (8-13—21 in 14 GP) tied Connor McDavid (4-17—21 in 15 GP) for the League lead in points – he is the first teenager in NHL history to lead the League in scoring (tied or outright) at this stage of a campaign (217 GP).

• Celebrini became the second-fastest player in Sharks history to 20 points in a season, behind Joe Thornton (13 GP in 2005-06). He surpassed the mark with his fourth three-point performance of 2024-25, which is the most among all players ahead of Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov and William Nylander (all w/ 3).
• Celebrini became the fastest player in franchise history to record 50 NHL assists (84 GP), doing it 27 games faster than Sandis Ozolinsh (111 GP). He also required the eighth-fewest contests to reach 50 assists with San Jose.

NYLANDER, BERTUZZI, KADRI FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi and Nazem Kadri all helped their team skate to the win column Wednesday and were featured in the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.

• Nylander (1-1—2) hit the 20-point mark and helped the Maple Leafs earn their League-leading sixth comeback win of 2025-26 as well as their third consecutive come-from-behind victory – the first time Toronto has done that since Nov. 11-19, 2023. Nylander tied Sweeney Schriner (11 GP in 1944-45) as the second-fastest Maple Leafs skater to record 20 points in a season in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44), behind Doug Gilmour (10 GP in 1992-93). He also became just the seventh Swedish player in NHL history to record 20 points in 11 games or fewer – Kent Nilsson (10 GP in 1984-85) is the only Swede to hit the mark faster.
• Bertuzzi (3-0—3) potted all three of his goals in the third period and became the seventh Blackhawks player in the past 30 years to score a hat trick in a single frame. Bertuzzi also became the sixth player in NHL history to score a hat trick for three Original Six teams (DET, TOR & CHI). The others: Pete Stemkowski (NYR, DET & TOR), Dan Maloney (DET, CHI & TOR), Frank Mahovlich (TOR, DET & MTL), Dean Prentice (NYR, DET & BOS) and Roy Conacher (CHI, BOS & DET).
• Kadri became the second Flames player to score in his 1,000th NHL game, following Martin Gelinas (1-0—1 on Dec. 9, 2003). Kadri was joined by his family for a pre-game ceremony that saw the Flames Foundation present a check for $50,000 to the Nazem Kadri Foundation, which helps support mental health causes. Kadri’s career was also celebrated for the impact he has had on the community – in Calgary and across the hockey world, he is an ambassador for inclusion and representation, serving as a role model to young players of all backgrounds.
• John Tavares was also honored pre-game by the Maple Leafs for 500 career goals before scoring No. 501 against the Mammoth. Part of that included a check presentation of $20,000 for The John Tavares Foundation, which was started in 2020 and supports children across Canada by providing necessary tools for kids to pursue their passions and participate in their communities. The team donated $10,000 and his teammates matched that donation.

99TH ALL-TIME MEETING ON DECK BETWEEN CROSBY AND OVECHKIN

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will go head-to-head for the 99th time in their careers (74 regular season, 25 playoffs) when the Penguins (8-4-2, 18 points) and Capitals (7-5-1, 15 points) clash on ESPN+ in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada. Crosby (46-79—125) holds the overall edge in points and wins in the head-to-head matchup (PIT: 55-39-4; WSH: 43-45-10) but Ovechkin owns more goals (53-48—101).

• Crosby has scored four of his 101 career regular-season game-winning goals in head-to-head contests against Ovechkin and did so in their most recent meeting (April 17, 2025). The longtime Penguins captain is one of four players in NHL history with 100 or more game-winning goals with a single franchise and needs one to pass Patrick Marleau (101 w/ SJS) for the third most, behind only Ovechkin (138 w/ WSH) and Gordie Howe (121 w/ DET).

MORE STREAKS CAN BE EXTENDED THURSDAY

The Ducks (8-3-1, 17 points) and Bruins (8-7-0, 16 points), two teams who share the NHL’s longest active winning streaks, can push their runs to five games, while the Sabres (5-4-4, 14 points) can extend their point streak to eight contests and achieve a rare NHL feat in the process.

• Anaheim is coming off a fourth straight win which saw Cutter Gauthier score his first career hat trick. The forward can become the fifth player in franchise history with four straight multi-point games. He would join Paul Kariya (2x; longest: 6 GP in 1994-95), Teemu Selanne (3x: 4 GP in 2005-06), Ryan Getzlaf (3x; last: 4 GP in 2015-16) and Corey Perry (4 GP in 2010-11).
• Boston is looking for its first five-game winning streak under new head coach Marco Sturm, who last achieved a five-game run with the Bruins as a player from Nov. 1-13, 2008. Sturm can become the eighth active head coach to post five-game win streaks as a player and head coach for the same franchise. The others: Jim Montgomery (STL), Rod Brind’Amour (CAR), Rick Tocchet (ARI), Craig Berube (PHI), Patrick Roy (COL), Lindy Ruff (BUF) and Mike Sullivan (BOS).
• The Sabres are 3-0-4 in their past seven outings – tied with the Stars (4-0-3) for the longest active point streak – and have needed overtime or a shootout to decide a winner in each of their past five outings. They can become the seventh team in NHL history to require extra time in at least six straight contests.