That is certainly true. Ovechkin scored two goals in the Washington Capitals’ 8-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday to give the forward 863 goals for his NHL career, 31 shy of Gretzky’s career mark of 894. He has scored 10 goals in his first 14 games this season. It took him 45 games to reach double-digits in goals last season.

To see him at work, this strange blend of natural ease and intense concentration, you wouldn't guess that Alex Ovechkin is chasing history. You'd imagine he'd already written it. From teammates to opponents,

Alex Ovechkin, seemingly on a nightly basis, inches closer and closer to breaking the all-time goal-scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky.

Washington Capitals star left winger Alex Ovechkin comes closer to another NHL record with 176th goal scored on a different goalie.

A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing -- it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world's attention.

Alex Ovechkin 's hot streak, his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky 's NHL goal-scoring record and the Washington Capitals' strong start to the season are all topics featured in the discussion on this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP.

Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Connor McMichael each scored two goals Saturday night, sparking the Capitals to an 8-1 victory over St. Louis.