(Reuters) -Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 894th career National Hockey League goal on Friday to tie the all-time record set by Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky which was once considered unreachable. Ovechkin’s second goal of the game came during the third period of the Capitals’ home game against the Chicago Blackhawks when the […]
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NHL-Ovechkin scores 894th career goal to tie Gretzky’s all-time record
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(Reuters) -Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 894th career National Hockey League goal on Friday to tie the all-time record set by Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky which was once considered unreachable.
Ovechkin’s second goal of the game came during the third period of the Capitals’ home game against the Chicago Blackhawks when the 39-year-old Russian scored from the left face-off circle during a power play to give his team a 4-3 lead.
Ovechkin was mobbed by his teammates and took a moment to soak in the moment as Gretzky looked on and applauded. He then high-fived his son Sergei through the glass.
“Everybody enjoy this moment because it’s something special,” Ovechkin told the sold-out crowd after the 5-3 win.
“Doing it at home in front of family, friends, obviously Wayne’s here as well, it’s a huge honor, a historical moment. It’s great.
“It means a lot. I don’t know what to say, I’m so emotional. You never think you can reach that milestone,” added Ovechkin, who was selected first overall by Washington in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Despite a flurry of opportunities late in the contest Ovechkin will have to wait until Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders for another chance to take the record outright.
“This is what the game is all about,” Gretzky said.
“Alex has been great for the game, great for Washington, great for his own country. It’s wonderful. I’ve very proud of him.
“I’m proud of what I accomplished. What makes our game so wonderful is the great athletes that we have and, more importantly, the great people that they are.”
The goal marked the latest feat in a glittering career that will one day usher Ovechkin into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
The Washington captain began the 2024-25 NHL season 41 goals shy of tying the mark set by Canadian Gretzky, who at the time of his retirement in 1999 owned or shared an astounding 61 league records.
Ovechkin made a red-hot start to the season, scoring an NHL-leading 15 goals in his first 18 games, and was on pace to break Gretzky’s record in February before suffering a broken leg during a November 18 game against Utah.
The injury caused Ovechkin to miss 16 games, the longest absence of his career, and cast doubt on whether the Moscow native would be able to 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 right where he left off upon his return and used his world-class shot to get his record chase back on track.
Throughout his career, Ovechkin has found success from his signature spot inside the left face-off circle on the power-play where his teammates feed him the puck and watch as he uses a lightning-quick release that has baffled goalies for years.
Among his many league records, Ovechkin passed Gretzky in 2022 for the most road goals in NHL history, and in 2024 topped the Canadian for most career empty-net goals.
In 2018 Ovechkin, the face of the Capitals franchise who for years bore the brunt of the blame for his team’s shortcomings, led Washington to their first Stanley Cup championship and was named most valuable player of the playoffs.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)