Catching up on Ovechkin's chase and other NHL storylines

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The 2024-25 NHL regular season reached its mathematical halfway point last week with game No. 656. Here's a catchup on some of the more interesting things happening around the league:

The "Gr8 Chase" is heating up.

The NHL's strained branding for Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record isn't catching on, but Ovechkin is certainly doing his part on the ice. Despite missing almost six weeks with a broken leg, the Washington Capitals star has already reached 20 goals for the 20th consecutive year, and it's looking increasingly likely that No. 8 will break the Great One's record of 894 goals before the end of this season.

Ovechkin, who's averaging a league-high 0.74 goals per game, is now just 22 goals away from passing Gretzky. He's on pace to score No. 895 at the end of March, with more than two weeks left in the regular season.

Meanwhile, Washington is one of the most surprising teams in the league. After missing the playoffs in 2023 and getting swept in the first round last year by the Rangers, the Caps (28-10-5) are tied with Vegas and Winnipeg for the most points.

Three Canadian teams are in the top six overall.

The Jets, inevitably, have cooled off since their absurd 15-1-0 start. But at 29-12-3, they still own that aforementioned share of the overall points lead along with a three-point edge over Minnesota in the Central Division. Winnipeg also boasts the best goal differential in the league at plus-48 while ranking third in goals scored and second in goals allowed on a per-game basis.

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is on his way to winning his