Ovechkin Breaks NHL Goals Record
On April 6, 2025 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, a National Hockey League record was broken that no one thought would ever be. Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, ending the so called “Gr8 Chase”.
With 12 minutes and 34 seconds left in the 2nd period against the New York Islanders, Ovechkin scored after receiving a pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson, breaking the National Hockey League record of 894 owned by Wayne Gretzky. The goalie on the receiving end was Ilya Sorokin.
Immediately afterwards, Ovechkin’s teammates skated out on to the ice to celebrate after Ovechkin did a belly slide across the ice. Soon after that, a short ceremony was held on the ice with members of the Ovechkin family, including his wife Nastya, his sons Sergei and Ilya, and his mother Tatyana.
The Ovechkins were given gifts by Wilson, longtime teammate John Carlson, the Capitals, and the league, including a painting made by Canadian artist Tony Scott. League commissioner Gary Bettman began the ceremony by congratulating Ovechkin before handing the microphone to Gretzky.
Bettman also spoke at a mid-game ceremony when Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s record of 801 goals on March 23, 1994 while playing for the Los Angeles Kings. This time, Gretzky was the one who congratulated Ovechkin, all 32 teams, and even the referees, the latter of which was met with boos.
The Capitals then held a ceremony when they returned to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on April 10. His brother Mikhail would also show up at the ceremony in D.C. The Capitals gave more gifts such as Rolex watches, a golden stick for Ovechkin, and two little ones for Sergei and Ilya, to which the two boys were told to not use for street hockey.
