We're tracking Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record and trying to determine the game in which he's most likely to break the record.

Moscow, a cold December evening, the wind slicing through the Red Square like a sharpened blade. Inside the Kremlin, a file is slid across a dark mahogany desk.

Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet for nearly 57 minutes in a 3-0 Washington Capitals win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night — but The Great Eight found a way to do what he does best just before the final buzzer.

Ovechkin was also taken up to Gretzky's restaurant, Studio 99 inside Rogers Place, where he posed with one of the many jerseys up on the wall. A memorabilia collector himself, Ovechkin owns a stick given to him by Gretzky when Washington won the Stanley Cup in 2018. It's one of his prized possessions.

It's no small feat, and looking from the outside in, one would wonder: how does that impact a team's structure? And critics have, with some questioning if it's a distraction to the Capitals dressing room.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin continues to inch closer to taking possession of one of the NHL’s most impressive records. Facing the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, Ovechkin sealed the 3-0 road victory for his side,