Alex Ovechkin is a hat trick away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record, and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be watching.
The 39-year-old and the Washington Capitals are hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Seven games remain for Ovechkin to reach a feat that was once thought to be unbreakable.
John Tavares, who's been on a hot streak since the 4 Nations Face-Off with 15 goals and 10 assists, says he'll be watching as Ovechkin looks to inch closer to the record against Chicago.
"It's pretty remarkable that we're going to see something that's hard to fathom to be broken in Wayne's record and what Ovie's done in the league," Tavares said. "I wouldn't be surprised if many guys around the league tune in to see it and maybe see it live."
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a veteran of over 1000 games in the league, has faced off against Ovechkin 24 times. He credits the goal scorer for how many times he's found the back of the net in what most people call his office.
"It's impressive. Obviously, it's a lot of goals. It's not easy to score in this league, so it's fun to watch," Ekman-Larsson said.
"Playing against him, too, you know how hard it is to go against him and that shot. Seems like everybody knows that he's going to be in that spot, but it's still hard to defend. But yeah, it's impressive."
William Nylander spent time around Ovechkin as a child since his father, Michael, was on the Capitals from 2007 to 2009. Nylander looked back on the time spent around Ovechkin with a smile, saying he'd play pranks on him and his brother, Alex.
"When we were on the ice after (practices), he took our sticks and put them above the penalty box area where the camera was," William smiled. "He just put them up there so we couldn't reach them."
Nylander is a goal scorer himself, with 259 goals in 678 career NHL games. But even he didn't think Gretzky's goal record would be broken.
"I mean, just incredible. I don't think anybody thought that that would happen. And now he's there, and it's probably going to happen very soon here. So, I mean, it's just incredible to be able to see it happen."
If Ovechkin doesn't break the record tonight, he'll have six more games to reach — and potentially — break the feat. The Capitals play the New York Islanders on Sunday before having a couple of days off until they face the Carolina Hurricanes next Thursday.
It might feel like a long week for fans around the NHL, but it'll certainly be worth the wait if, and when, he breaks the record.
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