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ELMONT, N.Y. — The floor was wet.
Beyond that, inside the visitors’ locker room at UBS Arena, there weren’t many obvious signs of what took place Sunday, what Alex Ovechkin accomplished. It felt crowded, sure, and a few more former All-Stars were milling around than you’d typically see after a game in early April. Still, a person dropped in the middle of the scene would’ve noticed hockey players speaking into microphones and not much else.
Tom Wilson was one of those players. And the Washington Capitals winger, standing in a puddle of sweat and Stella Artois, had to clear his throat to maintain his composure.
“It’s just an honor to be living through this,” he said.
Wilson was speaking about the exploits of Ovechkin, whose two-decade chase of the NHL career record for goals had come to an end 2 hours and 21 minutes earlier. He scored No. 895 as he’d scored so many before: on a remarkable, bull-whip shot through an impossibly small window with his team on the power play.
“This is the true greatness of Alex Ovechkin,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “I saw, there was nothing. I couldn’t even see (Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin), let alone netting.
“It’s the ultimate goal-scorer’s goal for the greatest of all time.”
This is the story of how Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 career goals.
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Why Alex Ovechkin’s ‘amazing journey’ to goal No. 895 meant so much to so many
The visitors’ room looked as it should have after Alex Ovechkin’s record-setting goal No. 895.
Tom Wilson holding court in one corner. John Carlson in another. Nicklas Backstrom on a bench. TJ Oshie nearby. The four Capitals who have been along for the Ovechkin ride the longest reveling in Ovechkin’s achievement Sunday at UBS Arena, even though Backstrom and Oshie haven’t played this season and almost certainly never will again because of injuries.
“We’re fortunate we got to play with him, first of all,” Backstrom said. “And to be able to be a part of this big night is obviously special. It’s something he feels and something we feel, so it’s mutual.”
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TJ Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom revel in Ovechkin’s accomplishment: ‘We’re like brothers’
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Ilya Sorokin and Alex Ovechkin had a moment on the ice after the ceremony to celebrate goal No. 895. What could Ovechkin have said?
“He asked about (a) stick,” Sorokin said with a laugh. “I said, no problem.”
What does one ask in return when the greatest goal scorer in NHL history asks a favor?
“I don’t know,” Sorokin said. “Respect?”
He’s got that. Sorokin will be on the highlight reels and viral clips forever now as the goalie who gave up the career record-setter to Ovechkin, but he is also the goalie Ovechkin shouted out during his on-ice speech, the goalie who sat and played with Ovechkin’s older son during the All-Star skills event two years ago and the one who came down to the visitors’ room following Sunday’s momentous game to spend time with the Ovechkins.
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Ilya Sorokin gives up Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal but can still smile: ‘It was amazing’
Alex Ovechkin has made his teammates, current and former, a big part of this. He said when he saw Nicklas Backstrom, he almost cried. He mentioned TJ Oshie specifically, too.
Beyond that, John Carlson assisted on 894 and Tom Wilson on 895. Both were part of the Capitals’ 2018 Cup team.
“He’s such a great man,” Ovechkin said of Wilson. He gassed up center Dylan Strome, too; Strome has been a big part of Ovechkin’s production for the last three seasons.
After expressing gratitude for the star-studded video that played on the video board after he scored, Ovechkin was done: “I’m happy and I can’t wait to go home.”
If you want a sense of what Wayne Gretzky means to hockey you could have watched him work not just the visitors’ room at UBS Arena after Sunday’s milestone game, but also the home room.
Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stopped off in the Islanders room to address the other team on Alex Ovechkin’s big day. Patrick Roy said that Gretzky made sure to tell the Islanders how much class they showed in lining up to congratulate Ovechkin after goal No. 895 and how they applauded Ovechkin during his mid-game ceremony.
“It’s very, very classy for them to come over and see us and acknowledge classy our players were,” Roy said.
Long after the players had disappeared, Gretzky was still signing pucks and taking pictures, first with the Caps equipment and medical trainers and then with the Isles’ staff. Marc Gatcomb, the undrafted 25-year-old Islander who scored twice today, stood with a look of awe on his face after Gretzky signed a puck and the game sheet for him nearly an hour after the game ended.
Patrick Roy on what he said to Ovechkin on the bench as Ovechkin received congratulations from the Islanders coaches: “I made a joke — it was nice of him to come over to us and I said now you could go take a shower, let us win the game. It was just a bad joke. But that was nice of him. He handled the entire thing very well.”
Alex Ovechkin, after 90 minutes or so of celebrating with teammates, family and friends, is speaking to the media at UBS Arena. He didn’t bring beers this time.
“I still can’t believe it,” he said. Tying the record was great, but “this is something crazy.” He’ll need some time to process it.
“It’s huge. It’s unbelievable.”
He’s relieved, too, that no more questions about breaking the record are in his or his teammates’ future.
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Watch below as Alex Ovechkin shares the historic 895th goal feat with his family on the ice after he scored.
A special moment.
Alex Ovechkin and former Capitals teammate Nicklas Backstrom shared a special moment in the Capitals' dressing room. They embraced and posed with Ovechkin's historic 895th goal puck.
Backstrom stepped away from the game in December 2023 to focus on his health, citing an "ongoing injury situation."
Probably the best moment of the day. Watch below as Alex Ovechkin hugs his kids in the Capitals' dressing room.
In the dressing room postgame, Alex Ovechkin addressed his team. He thanked his teammates, trainers and coaches for their support.
"It's not me we did it," Ovechkin said.
By Rich Hammond and Sean Gentille
The moment Alex Ovechkin erased Wayne Gretzky’s name from the top of the NHL’s career goals list, Gretzky celebrated.
“I was really happy for him. I felt like I scored the goal,” Gretzky said on the TNT broadcast on Sunday after Ovechkin scored record-setting goal No. 895 in New York. “I know the pressure he was under, the microscope he was under. I went through it myself. Honestly, I was elated for him. I thought, oh my gosh, good for you, man.”
Ovechkin scored in the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, fittingly on a power-play one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle. Gretzky’s 894 record stood for 26 years, 8 days; he also set that mark against the Islanders.
“I talked to him the other night after the game,” Gretzky said, “and I thought maybe he might have been thinking, ‘I should do it in Washington.’ One of my boys asked me, ‘Is that possible?’ I said, ‘He’s so good, he can decide when he wants to score.'”
Read more below.
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Wayne Gretzky cheers as Alex Ovechkin breaks his goals record: ‘I felt like I scored’
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With the New York Islanders' win, their record improves to 34-32-10. The Islanders are five points back of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, held by the Montreal Canadiens.
The Capitals, despite the loss to the Islanders, remain the class of the Eastern Conference. Their record is 49-19-9, sitting first in the Metropolitan Division with 107 points.
The next best team in the Eastern Conference is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 98 points.
Below are Alex Ovechkin's final stats against the Islanders today:
We’re waiting outside the Capitals’ locker room, and the VIPs are still showing up for the party. Gretzky and his family are in there again — as is FBI director Kash Patel. Ovechkin’s family showed up a bit after. Ilya Sorokin, too.
Also, Islanders forward Anders Lee had to make his way through the mess in the hallway and dropped a pretty good line: “Who are you guys waiting for?”
Alex Ovechkin poses with the puck he scored his historic 895th goal with. It's a puck that will be immortalized in hockey history.
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As Alex Ovechkin walks into the Capitals' dressing room, his teammates spray him with water to celebrate the historic accomplishment.
Watch below.
Alex Ovechkin has officially broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for career goals scored in the NHL with his 895th coming against the New York Islanders on April 6.
By topping a record once thought to be untouchable, Ovechkin further boosts his trading card market as he cements a unique place in hockey history. So what are the best options when it comes to Ovechkin trading cards? Here are our picks.
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The best Alexander Ovechkin cards to collect after he broke Wayne Gretzky’s goals record
Washington Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin
New York Islanders:
Bo Horvat, Marc Gatcomb (x2)