Greg Wyshynskiapr 6, 2025, 01:48 PM ET
Closegreg Wyshynski is a senior NHL writer at ESPN.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 on Sunday, passing through Hall of Fame Wayne Gretzky and becoming the NHL’s all-time goalscoring leader.
Ovechkin scored a record breaker in a 4-1 defeat to the New York Islanders on a pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson.
“This is crazy,” Ovechkin said after the match. “I’ll probably need a few more days, maybe a few weeks to understand what it means to be number one.
“Everything I can say: I’m extremely proud of myself. I’m so proud of myself. I’m truly proud of my whole family, my family and all of my coaches who helped me reach that milestone. It’s huge. It’s incredible.”
The game stagnated as players and fans celebrated the historic moment as Greetzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman were present.
“They say the record is broken, but they don’t know who will achieve more goals than that,” Gretzky said before waving Ovechkin.
When Casey Cizikas took a stumbling penalty in the second season seven minutes later, the arena echoed with the chant “Ovi! Ovi!” From a considerable number of Capitals fans who participated in the Islander’s home games.
Ovechkin ripped the shot from the top of the circle on the left. AKA “OVI Spot” has earned most of his goals in his career. He turned around and was angry at the neutral zone across the blue line.
This was his 42nd goal for the season, second only to GordieHou (44 in 1968-69) for players over 39.
We saw 894 times before this, and each one in the sweaters in the capital.
Thank you, O!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/ngdk9ezopg
– X-Washington Capitals (@capitals) April 6, 2025
Ovechkin eventually slid into the center of the ice, praised the crowd and pointed at the sky with his gloves.
He skated towards the Capitals bench, hugging the coach and staff, and arena workers were walking down the carpet for ice for the ceremony. They also founded paintings specially commissioned by Canadian artist Tony Harris, featuring Ovechkin and Gretzky.
The islanders entered the handshake line to celebrate Ovechkin, but his capital teammates wore special edition hats to commemorate the moment.
Congratulations from NHL legends, including former Capitals teammates such as Jaromir Jagr, Brett Hull, Phil Esposito and Center Nicklas Backstrom.
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It ended with his mother, Tatiana Ovechkin, who told Alex, “Your dad would be very proud.” Mikhail Ovechkin passed away in 2023 at 71.
Tatyana Ovechkin joined Alex’s wife, Nastia and his children, Sergei and Ilya, on the ice for the ceremony. Wilson and John Carlson skated to give them flowers during the ceremony.
“I mean, just thinking about a lot of him makes me feel a little emotional,” Wilson said after the match about assisting Ovechkin’s goals. “I feel very fortunate to be able to be by his side forever with a big goal and forever. I am extremely honored to be a part of it.”
Bettman, Gretzky and his wife Janet, as well as Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, also participated in the celebration on the ice.
“Wayne, you always had a record of ‘great things’ that no one thought were broken,” Bettman spoke to both Gretzky and Ovechkin. “But Alex, you did that. You’re amazing.”
He began to deal with them when Ovechkin’s teammates gathered on the carpet for a photo.
“I’ve always said it’s team sport,” Ovechkin said. “…Ferras, thank you so much. I love you so much.”
Congratulations to the 25-minute ceremony, with Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Roger Federer, Jayden Daniels, Cody Rhodes, Sidney Crosby, Snoop Dogg, Vincevagun and Danny DeVito.
Ovechkin never scored in Sorokin before, making his compatriot the 183rd different goaltender he beat.
Ovechkin tied the Gretzky record on Friday, in two tallies that saw the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 win. He chose not to get on the ice after the Blackhawks pulled the goalkeeper for a hat-trick in the third second half, and later said, “I don’t want an empty net.”
GretzkyOvechkinGoals894895Games1,4871,487Led NHL in goals5 times9 timesMost in season92 (’81-82)65 (’07-08)20-goal seasons172030-goal seasons141940-goal seasons121450-goal seasons9960-goal seasons51– ESPN Research
His pursuit of goal records spans his extraordinary 20-year NHL career, all with the capital. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy nine times as the NHL regular season goalscoring leader. He won the HART Trophy three times as an NHL MVP (2008, ’09, ’13) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP leading the capital to the first Stanley Cup Championship in 2018.
Ovechkin is the best leader ever in the NHL’s power play target (325) and overtime target (27), passing JAGR the most winning goal after garnering the 136th time on Friday. He scored 50 power play goals over Hall of Fame Dave Andreichuk. He is second on the list. Over 210 of Ovechkin’s power play goals were scored from an OVI spot near the left Faceoff Circle.
Gretzky scored a goal record on March 23, 1994 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. His 802nd goal surpassed the career mark of his idol, Gordy Howe. The match against the Vancouver Canucks was stopped for a 15-minute ceremony. Greetzky retired in 1999 with 894 goals. This is a few that a few of the NHL’s careers believed would surpass this until Ovechkin arrived.
“I always said there are people who can do that,” said Backstrom, who supported Ovechkin’s goals more than his other teammates from 2007 to 2023.
The Capitals won the 2004 NHL Draft Lottery and chose Ovechkin first. The Moscow native won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year with 52 goals from 2005 to 2006. By the end of his 10th NHL season, not yet at 30, Ovechkin had scored 475 goals in 760 games.
Greetzky told NHL.com in 2016 that Ovechkin could set a new career goal record, saying that he “has no doubt in my heart.”
“The first 500 is simple,” Gretzky said. “It’s the next 500. When you’re a little older and your body is a little worn out, the travel and physical parts of the game will catch up with you.”
Ovechkin wasted no time this season, having needed 42 goals to pass Gretzky. The Capitals captain scored 15 goals in his first 18 games, earning the hottest goal-scoring start of his career, an unprecedented feat of the 39-year-old in the NHL. His season had an unexpected turn on November 18th. Ovechkin broke his left fibre in a match against Utah. However, the “Russian machine,” he is called for stamina and health, returned to the front of schedule on December 28th and scored a goal after missing 16 matches.
Ovechkin’s record hunt captivated the hockey world in the final week of the regular season. It was branded as “The Gr8 Chase” by the NHL. Game Broadcast introduced an alternative feed that focuses solely on Ovechkin. In Washington, target counters have been added within Capital One Arena and Union Market District. Greetzky, Bettman, Leonsis and Nastya Ovechkin began chasing teams from the arena to the arena.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin used his record pursuit to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, donating an amount equal to the sum of all goals scored for the rest of his career, encouraging fans to contribute on goal-by-goal basis.
