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The Alex Ovechkin Eras: Eight spans that define the Great 8

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894 career goals.

Ovechkin scored his first goal in his first NHL game as a fresh-faced rookie in Oct. 2005. Everything that happened after led to this history-making moment for the superstar winger, years of joy and pain that made Ovechkin the player -- and eventually the champion -- he'd become.

Welcome to the Alex Ovechkin Eras Tour, eight distinct epochs that defined "The Great 8" over the past 20 years.

The Rockstar Rookie Era (2004-06)
Goals scored: 52

The 2003-04 season wasn't the lowest point in Capitals' history, which was the 1974-75 team that earned eight wins in 80 games and had the worst points percentage (.