Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career, setting off a wild celebration on the ice with his teammates and chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” in the crowd that included the “Great One” himself.
Ovechkin scored on the power play with 13:46 left Friday night against visiting Chicago, stopping the game while fans rose to their feet to applaud the longtime Washington Capitals captain. Clearly emotional he skated several laps around centre ice asking for more cheers, then returned to the bench where he blew kisses to members of his family in a suite.
A video montage of Ovechkin’s path to 894 played on arena video boards during the next stoppage in play. He’s now one goal away from breaking one of hockey’s biggest records.
WATCH l Ovechkin ties Gretzky’s career goals record:
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 893rd and 894th goals of his career in a 5-3 win over Chicago. Ovechkin has now tied Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL record.
With Gretzky in attendance for the first time during this chase, Ovechkin gave him and nearly everyone else in the building reason to cheer early by scoring his 893rd goal less than four minutes in. He took a pass from Dylan Strome behind the net and banking the puck off the far post and goaltender Spencer Knight’s back and in.
After a few seconds, Ovechkin’s personal goal song, “Shake, Rattle & Roll” by Big Joe Turner,” started blaring from arena speakers as mascot Slapshot flipped the counter in one corner from 892 to 893.
Scoring in a fourth consecutive game, Ovechkin reached 40 goals for a 14th time in 20 seasons, which is the most in league history. With his second, he is at 41.
WATCH l Ovechkin scores 893rd career goal:
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the 893rd goal of his career against Chicago to give his team a 1-0 lead in the first period and is now two goals shy from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL record.