Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
April 6, 2025 - As Alex Ovechkin continued to rack up goals year after year, the question lingered - could he do it? Could he really break Wayne Gretzky's career goals record? For decades, it was seen as unreachable. Even longtime Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati's comment about Ovechkin being "Only 860 behind" in 2006 was said as a joke - youtu.be/qu23oYqfxVA?si=ige_KZtMmpngF3dy&t=215. But 7,021 days later, the joke had turned to prophecy. After coming inches away from scoring his 895th goal in the previous game (youtu.be/K_LeF6jKLv0), all eyes in the hockey world were fixed on Ovechkin once again as he suited up against the New York Islanders for a matinee matchup. The game didn't matter much to the Capitals - they had already clinched a playoff berth and were well on their way to securing the Eastern Conference's number one seed. All the focus was on getting the puck to number 8 in white. On a power play just under halfway through the game, the Great 8 caught a cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson and ripped home the record-breaking tally from his office at the top of the left circle. Ovechkin celebrated with a belly flop reminiscent of the exuberant celebrations in his early years as the team emptied the bench. Just like when Gretzky passed Gordie Howe, the NHL paused the game and held an on-ice ceremony to congratulate the Capitals captain. Ovechkin had overcome lockouts, a pandemic, several coaching philosophy changes, Father Time, and even a broken leg earlier in the same season to reach the unreachable. The Islanders may have come away with the victory in the standings, but for the organization and the fans, it was a triumph. The crazy Russian kid who had turned the franchise from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the most exciting, who led the team to their first Stanley Cup, who gave hockey fans in the DC area and around the world something to look forward to on a random Tuesday in November had just broken a record that had only been held by nine other players in the 100+ year history of the NHL, and he did it all with the same team since day one.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Deflection chance
- 2nd Period -
1:43 - Shot and chance
2:05 - Redirection chance
2:19 - Goal, 895th career goal, passes Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history
7:06 - Islanders show Ovechkin respect with handshakes
7:56 - Ovechkin's family comes onto the ice
9:07 - Wayne Gretzky speech
11:02 - Gretzky gives Ovi the official handshake
12:13 - Ovechkin addresses the crowd
- 3rd Period -
13:51 - Shot
13:59 - Chance off a faceoff
14:08 - Final buzzer
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
April 6, 2025 - As Alex Ovechkin continued to rack up goals year after year, the question lingered - could he do it? Could he really break Wayne Gretzky's career goals record? For decades, it was seen as unreachable. Even longtime Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati's comment about Ovechkin being "Only 860 behind" in 2006 was said as a joke - youtu.be/qu23oYqfxVA?si=ige_KZtMmpngF3dy&t=215. But 7,021 days later, the joke had turned to prophecy. After coming inches away from scoring his 895th goal in the previous game (youtu.be/K_LeF6jKLv0), all eyes in the hockey world were fixed on Ovechkin once again as he suited up against the New York Islanders for a matinee matchup. The game didn't matter much to the Capitals - they had already clinched a playoff berth and were well on their way to securing the Eastern Conference's number one seed. All the focus was on getting the puck to number 8 in white. On a power play just under halfway through the game, the Great 8 caught a cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson and ripped home the record-breaking tally from his office at the top of the left circle. Ovechkin celebrated with a belly flop reminiscent of the exuberant celebrations in his early years as the team emptied the bench. Just like when Gretzky passed Gordie Howe, the NHL paused the game and held an on-ice ceremony to congratulate the Capitals captain. Ovechkin had overcome lockouts, a pandemic, several coaching philosophy changes, Father Time, and even a broken leg earlier in the same season to reach the unreachable. The Islanders may have come away with the victory in the standings, but for the organization and the fans, it was a triumph. The crazy Russian kid who had turned the franchise from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the most exciting, who led the team to their first Stanley Cup, who gave hockey fans in the DC area and around the world something to look forward to on a random Tuesday in November had just broken a record that had only been held by nine other players in the 100+ year history of the NHL, and he did it all with the same team since day one.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Deflection chance
- 2nd Period -
1:43 - Shot and chance
2:05 - Redirection chance
2:19 - Goal, 895th career goal, passes Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history
7:06 - Islanders show Ovechkin respect with handshakes
7:56 - Ovechkin's family comes onto the ice
9:07 - Wayne Gretzky speech
11:02 - Gretzky gives Ovi the official handshake
12:13 - Ovechkin addresses the crowd
- 3rd Period -
13:51 - Shot
13:59 - Chance off a faceoff
14:08 - Final buzzer
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
