Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career NHL goal, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record once considered unbeatable.
Ovechkin’s signature moment came in the second period of the Capitals’ road game against the New York Islanders when the 39-year-old Russian shot from distance as wild cheers echoed around UBS Arena.
Ovechkin dove onto the ice in celebration as his teammates jumped off the bench and rushed around him in scenes of utter joy as Hall of Famer Gretzky smiled widely into the crowd and joined in the standing ovation.
“Like I always say, it’s all the time, it’s a team sport and without my boys, the whole organization, the fans, I would never get past ‘the Great One’ (Gretzky),” Ovechkin said.
The goal marked the final feat of a stellar career that will inevitably land Ovechkin in the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and the game was halted for several minutes as the league honored his feat.
“895 is pretty special,” Gretzky said.
“They say records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure anyone can score more goals than that.”
A sea of ​​Capitals red submerged the Elmont stands as fans traveled to cold and wet Long Island in hopes of witnessing history.
They started cheering “Ovi! Ovi!” the moment their captain’s skate hit the ice and kept their faith alive as the home team got off to a fast start with two goals in the first period.
There were gasps when Ovechkin fired a shot that ricocheted off the stick of Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin less than three minutes into the second period.
Throughout his career, Ovechkin has found success from his prime spot near the left faceoff circle on the power play and he used that winning formula again to earn his record-breaking goal.
His trademark sense of humor was on display as he thanked his compatriot Sorokin for passing up the record-breaking goal and taking his place in the footnotes of hockey history.
“Thanks to Ilya Sorokin,” he said. “I love you, brother.”
The Islanders added a goal in the second period and another in the third to secure a 4-1 victory, but the score seemed to matter little to Capitals fans immersing themselves in history.
The Washington captain entered the 2024-25 NHL season 42 goals shy of breaking the all-time mark set by Canadian Gretzky, who at the time of his retirement in 1999 owned or shared 61 league records.
Ovechkin got off to a blistering start to the season, scoring an NHL-high 15 goals in his first 18 games, and was on pace to break Gretzky’s record in February before fracturing his leg in a November game against Utah.
The injury caused Ovechkin to miss 16 games, the longest absence of his career, and cast doubt on whether he would reach Gretzky’s mark before the end of the regular season on April 17.
But Ovechkin, one of only three players in NHL history to score 800 goals, picked up where he left off upon his return and used his world-class shooting to get the record race back on track.
With the Capitals assured of a playoff spot, Ovechkin said he was relieved to have the record race — and the media coverage that came with it — behind him.
“Finally, no one will ask me ‘when are you going to do it?'” he said.
Among his many league records, Ovechkin passed Gretzky in 2022 for most road goals in NHL history, and in 2024 he topped the Canadiens for most career empty-net goals.
In 2018, Ovechkin, the face of the Capitals franchise who for years was responsible for his team’s shortcomings, led Washington to its first Stanley Cup championship.
The “GR8 Chase”, so called in reference to Ovechkin’s jersey number, had captivated hockey fans around the world and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hailed the charismatic Russian as “an unstoppable force”.
“A unique combination of effervescent personality, dynamic physique and uncanny talent for shooting the puck,” Bettman said in a statement.
“And today he is alone.”
Reuters
