The GR8 Chase: Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record in style

Photo Credit: John McCreary/NHL Getty Images

“Ovechkin fires, scores! The chasing days are done! Alex Ovechkin is the greatest goal scorer in the history of the NHL!”

Those were the words of long-time Washington Capitals television play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati as he called Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal on Sunday afternoon in Long Island, New York.

In front of a raucous crowd at UBS Arena, his family, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and “The Great One” himself, Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals scored in the history of the league, scoring his 895th career goal.

To no surprise, Ovechkin set the all-time scoring record on the power play. While the milestone goal didn’t come via a slapshot from his “office” above the left-wing circle, it was close enough. Ovechkin took a cross-ice pass from long-time teammate Tom Wilson and fired a wicked wrist shot from the top of the left circle past the blocker of Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. To celebrate, Ovechkin dove into a head-first slide on the ice before being mobbed by his teammates who all stormed off the bench once the puck hit the back of the net.

The 20-year veteran has made a living on the power play during his career. His record-breaking goal on Sunday was the 325th power-play goal scored in his career. Ovechkin has the most goals scored on the power play in league history, 51 ahead of second-place Dave Andreychuk (274), in 152 fewer games.

Ovechkin scored twice last Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. With Wayne Gretzky in attendance and in front of his home fans, many thought the 39-year-old Russian would break the record with a hat trick. However, the veteran told head coach Spencer Carbery he didn’t want to break the record on an empty-net goal. After the Capitals scored on an empty net, Ovechkin had four shots on goal in the final minute of the game, but Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight did not want to be on the wrong end of history, even though he already allowed Ovechkin to tie Gretzky’s record (894) earlier in the third period.

No matter when or where Ovechkin broke the record, the celebration was going to be like nothing fans had ever seen before. Once the goal went in, the game paused for a 15-minute ceremony at center ice. Both teams emptied their respective benches to congratulate Ovechkin. “The Great 8” was then honored with video tributes, a special commemorative painting from Commissioner Bettman, and a speech from Gretzky. With his family and support system on the ice, Ovechkin acknowledged the crowd and thanked everyone who made this historical moment possible.

“Like I always said, all the time, it’s a team sport, and without my boys, the whole organization, the fans, the trainers, and coaches, I would never stand here and obviously I would never pass the Great One,” said Ovechkin as he spoke to the crowd following his record-breaking goal. “And the last thing, all of you fans, all the world, Russia, we did it boys, we did it! It’s history!”

While many fans wanted the record to be broken in Washington at Capital One Arena, history had other ideas. On April 6, 2004, the Capitals won the draft lottery and the right to select Ovechkin with the first-overall pick. On the same day, 21 years later, he broke the league’s goal-scoring record with the same team that drafted him. Sunday was also Ovechkin’s 1,487th career game, the same amount of games Gretzky played during his 20-year career. If history hadn’t already written itself, the final goal of Gretzky’s career came against the New York Islanders, the same team that he witnessed Ovechkin break his record against.

However, many thought the record-breaking moment would have to wait till next year when the 39-year-old broke his leg in November and missed 16 games. Ovechkin worked his way back from the unfortunate injury in record time and made the most of the remaining games. Even with his lengthy absence, Ovechkin was able to break the record, and now sits third in goals scored (41) this season, 11 behind Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.

The next closest active player to Ovechkin’s record is the legendary 37-year-old Sidney Crosby who is 273 goals behind. The NHL projects that Crosby would reach 895 goals by the 2032-33 season. Of course, there is no telling how much longer Ovechkin will play for and how many more goals he will score. He might be aiming for 1000!

Gretzky held his goal-scoring record for 26 years, how long will Ovechkin hold his record?