NEW YORK — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 on Sunday, passing Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time goal scoring leader.
Ovechkin, on a pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson, netted the record breaker against the New York Islanders with a power-play goal past fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin with 12:34 left in the second period of Sunday’s game — the 1,487th game of his career, the same as Gretzky’s career total.
With Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance, the game came to a standstill as players and fans celebrated the historic moment.
A sight we’ve seen 894 times before this and each and every single time has been in a Capitals sweater.
Thank you, O!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/NgDK9EZopG
— x – Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 6, 2025
Ovechkin had never scored on Sorokin before, making his countryman the 183rd different goaltender he has beaten. He dived onto the ice to celebrate as so many Capitals fans in attendance chanted “Ovi! Ovi!” from the stands.
Teammates mobbed the 39-year-old Ovechkin to celebrate the accomplishment, which replaced a record that had stood for 31 years. Ovechkin then hugged team equipment and training staff on the bench and went through a handshake line with the Islanders as crew members set up for the ceremony.
Ovechkin tied Gretzky’s record Friday with two tallies in a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. He chose not to go out on the ice after the Blackhawks pulled their goalie late in the third for a possible hat trick, saying later, “I don’t want an empty net” when he sets the record.
His pursuit of the all-time goals record has spanned his extraordinary 20-year NHL career, all of it with the Washington Capitals. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season goal-scoring leader nine times. He captured the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP three times (2008, ’09, ’13) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018.
Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time leader in power-play goals (325) and overtime goals (27) and passed Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals after tallying his 136th on Friday. He has scored 50 more power-play goals than Hall of Famer Dave Andreychuk, who is second on the list. More than 210 of Ovechkin’s power-play goals were scored from the “Ovi Spot” near the left faceoff circle, as it has come to be known.
Gretzky captured the goals record on March 23, 1994, as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. His 802nd goal surpassed the career mark of his idol, Gordie Howe. The game against the Vancouver Canucks was stopped for a 15-minute ceremony. Gretzky retired in 1999 with 894 goals, a career total that few in the NHL believed would ever be surpassed — until Ovechkin arrived.
“I always said that if there’s any guy who could do it, it’s him,” said Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, currently injured, who assisted on more Ovechkin goals than any other teammate from 2007 to 2023. “Sometimes, it just seems like the puck finds him, and he’s got that ability to put it in the net like no one else.”
The Capitals won the 2004 NHL draft lottery to select Ovechkin first overall. The Moscow native won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2005-06 with 52 goals, as his buoyant personally revitalized the franchise. By the end of his 10th NHL season, having yet to turn 30 years old, Ovechkin had amassed 475 goals in 760 games.
Gretzky told NHL.com in 2016 that if Ovechkin sustained that pace “there’s no question in my mind” he could set a new career goals record.
“The first 500 are the easy ones,” Gretzky said. “It’s the next 500, when you’re getting a little bit older and your body is a little bit worn down — the travel and physical part of the game catches up to you.”
Ovechkin entered this season needing 42 goals to pass Gretzky, and he wasted no time. The Capitals captain scored 15 goals in his first 18 games, the hottest goal-scoring start of his career and an unprecedented feat for a 39-year-old in the NHL. His season took an unexpected turn on Nov. 18, when Ovechkin broke his left fibula in a game against Utah. But the “Russian Machine,” as he has been called for his stamina and good health, returned ahead of schedule — and scored a goal — on Dec. 28, after missing 16 games.
The Ovechkin record hunt captivated the hockey world during the final weeks of the regular season. It was branded “The GR8 Chase” by the NHL. Game broadcasts introduced alternate feeds that focused only on Ovechkin. In Washington, goal counters were added inside Capital One Arena and in Union Market District. Gretzky, Bettman, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya, began following the team from arena to arena.
Ovechkin, meanwhile, used his record pursuit to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, donating an amount equal to his goal total for every goal he scores during the remainder of his career and encouraging fans to contribute on a per-goal basis as well.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
