<p>Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin has officially rewritten the history books, becoming the NHL&#8217;s all-time goals leader. Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career on Sunday against the New York Islanders, surpassing Wayne Gretzky during the second period on the power play.</p>
<p>Ovechkin fittingly scored from inside the faceoff circle, where he&#8217;s torched opposing goaltenders from the moment he entered the league. He was promptly mobbed by his teammates in celebration at centre ice.</p>
<p>The record was previously considered to be one of hockey&#8217;s unbreakable accomplishments, and Ovechkin can be firmly considered the greatest goal-scorer of all-time. Ovechkin has been joined by Gretzky over the past week, where the NHL&#8217;s all-time points leader has been more than happy to celebrate with the Capitals, marking the passage of time.</p>
<p>Here is Ovechkin&#8217;s record-setting goal:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">ALEX OVECHKIN IS THE GREATEST GOALSCORER IN NHL HISTORY! 🚨🚨🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gr8ness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gr8ness</a> <a href="https://t.co/NKef3VvNaJ">pic.twitter.com/NKef3VvNaJ</a></p>
<p>&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Gretzky is seemingly thrilled for Ovechkin, and spoke at length about the Capitals&#8217; superstar tying his record.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a wonderful night, because both teams played hard,” <a href="https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/ovechkin-aims-for-summit-sunday-vs-isles">Gretzky said</a>. &#8220;I’m so impressed by what the Washington Capitals have done over the last year, and the record they have. And people don’t realize this – because I went through what Alex is going through – it’s hard on your teammates, too. It’s joyful and it’s exciting, but they feel the pressure and the stress, and they have to answer all of the questions also.</p>
<p>&#8220;So, my hat goes off to the entire organization. I’m so proud of the fact that Washington has become such a great hockey city, and Alex is obviously a huge part of that. More importantly, their team is winning now. And it’s icing on the cake that when he breaks the record, I’m so proud of the fact that my wife Janet and I are going to be here like Colleen and Gordie Howe were when I broke his record. And that’s’ what our game is all about.&#8221;</p>
<p>After consulting with Ovechkin, Capitals head coach <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/capitals-carbery-praises-leafs-elite-defence-why-players-alexander-ovechkin-record-chase">Spencer Carbery</a> elected not to place the captain on the ice with an empty-net and explained his decision plainly following Friday&#8217;s victory.</p>
<p>&#8220;He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/washington-capitals-spencer-carbery-alex-ovechkin-break-record-with-goaltender-in-the-crease">Carbery said</a>. “Which I appreciate. Being at home, it’s hard being as coaches, I just wanted to make sure – [could’ve been] a hat trick at home – he didn’t want to go out and score on an empty-net to break the record.&#8221;</p>
<p>The 39-year-old has been in terrific form this season and his 42 goals rank third this season, only trailing Leon Draisaitl and William Nylander.</p>
<p>Washington has arguably been the most positive surprise of the season and will clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory Sunday. Ovechkin has been at the forefront of the Capitals&#8217; ascension to title contention, and it&#8217;s a well-deserved accomplishment for the greatest goal-scorer of our lifetime.</p>
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Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin has officially rewritten the history books, becoming the NHL's all-time goals leader. Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career on Sunday against the New York Islanders, surpassing Wayne Gretzky during the second period on the power play.

Ovechkin fittingly scored from inside the faceoff circle, where he's torched opposing goaltenders from the moment he entered the league. He was promptly mobbed by his teammates in celebration at centre ice.

The record was previously considered to be one of hockey's unbreakable accomplishments, and Ovechkin can be firmly considered the greatest goal-scorer of all-time. Ovechkin has been joined by Gretzky over the past week, where the NHL's all-time points leader has been more than happy to celebrate with the Capitals, marking the passage of time.

Here is Ovechkin's record-setting goal:

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336

Gretzky is seemingly thrilled for Ovechkin, and spoke at length about the Capitals' superstar tying his record.

"It was a wonderful night, because both teams played hard,” <a href="https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/ovechkin-aims-for-summit-sunday-vs-isles">Gretzky said</a>. "I’m so impressed by what the Washington Capitals have done over the last year, and the record they have. And people don’t realize this – because I went through what Alex is going through – it’s hard on your teammates, too. It’s joyful and it’s exciting, but they feel the pressure and the stress, and they have to answer all of the questions also.

"So, my hat goes off to the entire organization. I’m so proud of the fact that Washington has become such a great hockey city, and Alex is obviously a huge part of that. More importantly, their team is winning now. And it’s icing on the cake that when he breaks the record, I’m so proud of the fact that my wife Janet and I are going to be here like Colleen and Gordie Howe were when I broke his record. And that’s’ what our game is all about."

After consulting with Ovechkin, Capitals head coach <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/capitals-carbery-praises-leafs-elite-defence-why-players-alexander-ovechkin-record-chase">Spencer Carbery</a> elected not to place the captain on the ice with an empty-net and explained his decision plainly following Friday's victory.

"He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease," <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/washington-capitals-spencer-carbery-alex-ovechkin-break-record-with-goaltender-in-the-crease">Carbery said</a>. “Which I appreciate. Being at home, it’s hard being as coaches, I just wanted to make sure – [could’ve been] a hat trick at home – he didn’t want to go out and score on an empty-net to break the record."

The 39-year-old has been in terrific form this season and his 42 goals rank third this season, only trailing Leon Draisaitl and William Nylander.

Washington has arguably been the most positive surprise of the season and will clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory Sunday. Ovechkin has been at the forefront of the Capitals' ascension to title contention, and it's a well-deserved accomplishment for the greatest goal-scorer of our lifetime.
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Alexander Ovechkin breaks NHL’s all-time goals record, surpassing Wayne Gretzky

The Washington Capitals celebrate Alex Ovechkin's record-setting 895 goal.

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