Alex Ovechkin is off to the fifth-best start in NHL history for a player ...

What’s there to say about Alex Ovechkin that hasn’t already been said? He’s simply one of the greatest hockey players of all time and year after year, when he’s doubted, he finds a way to prove himself once again.

Now playing his 20th NHL season, Ovechkin has gotten off to another hot start in the 2024-25 campaign. After notching a three-point night against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday — the 133rd of his career — the Capitals captain now has 10 points in his first 9 games of the season.

Per NHL PR, Ovechkin is now the fifth-fastest player age 39 or older to hit the 10-point milestone. The names he joins on this list are mostly Hockey Hall of Famers.

Gordie Howe leads the list, scoring his first 10 points in an absurd six games as a 40-year-old during the 1968-69 season as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Howe finished that season with 44 goals, 59 assists, and 103 points — his final 100 point-plus season of his NHL career.

Across a full 82-game season, Ovechkin is projected by ESPN to score 46 goals, notch 46 assists, and register 91 points, which would mark his biggest year, points wise, since the 2009-10 campaign where he had 109 (50g, 59a). He’s also break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record of 894 at this pace this season.

Ovechkin is currently one of 67 players players in the NHL with at least 5 games played who has averaged a point per game or more, sitting in 32nd place in the NHL at 1.11. Ovechkin’s the only one who is age 39 or older (Evgeni Malkin is also on the list but 38).

Forming a trio with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas this season, the Capitals’ first line has been one of the most productive in the league early in terms of expected goals percentage.

Normally, age-related regression would have taken a significant toll after nearly two decades in the NHL. But not so much for the durable Ovi, who sometimes appears more of a hockey-playing machine than human.