This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

The countdown is on with Alex Ovechkin just 18 goals from overtaking Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's career goal leader – a mark that once seemed unsurmountable and earned Gretzky the nickname The ...

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is one of the most heralded players in NHL history. The legendary forward already has ...

Gretzky scored 51 goals that season -- the first of his nine 50-goal seasons, an NHL record he shares with Ovechkin and Mike ...

Ovechkin scored with 53 seconds remaining in the first period, taking a centering pass from Martin Fehervary and flicking it ...

Alex Ovechkin will almost certainly break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. Ovechkin began this season with 853 goals — 41 shy of Gretzky’s 894 — and got off to a great start ...

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is 16 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record with 28 games left in the season ...

Washington Capitals and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin is on the cusp of breaking a scoring record many believed would never be broken: the 894 goals scored by Wayne Gretzky over his illustrious career.

One of the most exciting races in the NHL for this season is Ovechkin's chase to break Wayne Gretzky's goal record. The Great One's mark of 894 has stood for over nearly three decades, and it was ...

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is closing in on the NHL goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 877 goals and needs 18 to break the record. Ovechkin entered the season 42 ...