Alex Ovechkin scores goal No. 895 to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL all-time goals record

Alex Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring king.

The Washington Capitals superstar scored his 895th career goal on Sunday against the New York Islanders, breaking the NHL record held by Wayne Gretzky since 1999. Ovechkin scored on a power play during the second period.

Gretzky, who was in attendance at UBS Arena as Ovechkin broke his record, said on Friday that he was "very proud" after Ovechkin tied his record with two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks. After Ovechkin broke the record on Sunday, Gretzky was one of many to congratulate Ovechkin, and spoke during a brief on-ice ceremony.

Ovechkin entered the 2024-25 season with 853 career goals. After starting the season red-hot with 15 goals in 18 games, his season was put on pause after a broken fibula suffered in November caused him to miss five weeks. He didn’t need long to shake off any rust as he resumed his chase of Gretzky with four goals in his first five games back from injury.

Another stretch beginning at the end of January saw Ovechkin score seven times in seven games, which included his 33rd career NHL hat trick and second this season.

As Ovechkin approached Gretzky’s mark, he added even more milestones to his Hall of Fame résumé.

On Feb. 25, Ovechkin scored his 30th goal of the season — the 19th time in his 20 NHL seasons where he scored at least 30 goals. He is the fourth player age 39 or older to have a 30-goal season, joining Gordie Howe, Johnny Bucyk and Teemu Selanne.

Ovechkin’s 33rd goal of the season, on March 9 against the Seattle Kraken, made him the 10th member of the 1,600-point club with seventh to do so with a single NHL franchise after Howe, Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Joe Sakic.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft entered the league and immediately made an impact, scoring 52 goals during his first season and earning the 2005-06 Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. ...