Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal on Sunday afternoon to pass Wayne Gretzky for the most in league history.
The 39-year-old forward broke the record during a second-period power play against the New York Islanders on the road, hammering a wrist shot past Ilya Sorokin from the left circle to cut the deficit to 2–1.
The game paused for longer than 25 minutes as fans, teammates, and NHL legends honored the milestone with an extended on-ice ceremony at UBS Arena and videos dropping on the internet.
Among the many tributes that followed was a message from Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
“Ovi, congratulations on breaking the all-time goals record,” Matthews said. “You’re one of my favorite players since I came into the league. Love watching you. It’s been an honor to compete against you.
”Incredible, incredible record. Congrats.”
Matthews entered the league in 2016, more than a decade after Ovechkin began his career in Washington during the 2004-05 season.
The Leafs center is widely viewed as one of the top candidates to chase down goal records of his own in the future, with 398 goals in just 623 games and currently on pace to break Ovechkin's mark.
Ovechkin’s record-setting goal came in his 1,487th career game, matching the exact number Gretzky played before retiring. It was the 183rd different goalie he’s scored against and the 42nd goal of a season for the Russian winger.
Ovechkin is now in possession of the NHL records for goals scored, power-play goals (325), overtime goals (27), and game-winning goals (136).
The Capitals ultimately lost the game 4–1, but the result was secondary to the occasion. Plus, Washington already clinched a postseason berth two weeks ago while still leading the Eastern Conference with a 49-19-9 record and 107 points through 77 games.
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