Photo credit: Talk Hockey

Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame icon Mario Lemieux’s goal pace during his career was higher than both Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin’s in a newly revealed stat.

Alex Ovechkin is now officially the leading goal scorer in National Hockey League history, smashing the record that was previously held since 1999 by Wayne Gretzky.

Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his Hall of Fame career yesterday against the New York Islanders; he had tied the record with goal No. 894 just days earlier against the Chicago Blackhawks.

But what would another former NHL icon’s stats look like had he played in the same amount of total games?

Former Pittsburgh Penguins captain and franchise icon Mario Lemieux had a pair of separate tenures in the NHL; his 1st was interrupted after he stepped away from the game to receive treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Per a newly released stat, Lemieux actually would have finished with over 1,000 goals had he played in the games that he missed.

Gretzky & Ovi average .60 goals/game in their career. Mario averaged .75 goals/game in his career. 99 & 8 played 572 more games than 66. If 66 played those extra games at his average he’d have 429 more goals giving him 1,119 goals! 224 ahead of both 99 & 8.

Lemieux made a triumphant return to the game in December of 2000, scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of his 1st game back in over 3 years.

Just what would have Lemieux accomplished had he not had to step away from the game, and could it have resulted in additional titles for the Penguins?