The Gr8 Eight is The GOAT

In the early afternoon of April 6, 2004 – two days after the end to their ignominious 2003-04 season in which they compiled their lowest point percentage since 1977-78 – the Washington Capitals got well more than a glimmer of good news when they learned they were the grand prize winners of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft lottery, and they had earned the right to make the first overall selection in the 2004 Entry Draft in Raleigh, in late June of that year.

In the early afternoon of April 6, 2025, the player the Caps selected with that first overall pick nearly 21 years ago, the man who has forever altered the hockey landscape in Washington and far beyond, completed a chase that was two decades in the making when he scored a power-play goal against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. That historic lamplighter brought about a changing of the guard atop the NHL’s all-time goals ledger, for the first time in just over 31 years.

For two decades now, Alex Ovechkin has played with passion and intensity and with a relentless drive and a physical force that few others are or ever were capable of replicating. And with his inexorable pursuit of the NHL’s all-time goals record down finally down to the short strokes as the end of his 20th season in the circuit draws near, he has somehow managed to ratchet those attributes to another level.

And as he has done his entire career, he brought his family and his teammates and friends along for a ride they’ll never forget. It’s also a ride that’s ongoing; Ovechkin has performed at the very top of his craft this season, at the age of 39.

At 7:26 of the second period of Washington’s Sunday afternoon tilt with the Islanders at UBS Arena, Ovechkin completed his climb to the NHL’s goal scoring summit, taking a perfect setup feed from Tom Wilson – with Dylan Strome collecting the secondary helper – and whipping a wrist shot past New York netminder Ilya Sorokin from the top of the left circle on a Capitals power play.

The goal – No. 895 of his NHL career in the waning games of his 20th season in the League – pushed Ovechkin past Wayne Gretzky, who was in attendance on Sunday, as he was on Friday in Washington when Ovechkin scored twice to tie Gretzky at 894.

“When I was tying the record, I still can’t believe it,” says Ovechkin. “It was so emotional, and it was such a great night; it’s something crazy. I just said I’m probably going to need a couple more days or a couple of weeks to realize what does it mean to be No. 1.

“All I can say is I’m very proud for myself; I’m also proud for my family, for all my teammates that helped me reach that milestone. And for all my coaches, it’s huge. It’s an unbelievable moment.”

Wilson had similar thoughts.

“I don't know if it's really sunk in yet,” he says. “It's incredible. It's the biggest goal in the history of the NHL, and to be in here with all our best friends and a great captain, a great teammate, a great friend, I'm just so proud of him, and I'm so happy for him, and he's done so much for all of us, all of our careers, this organization, this city, his family, all our families. It's just truly special to be a part of, and I'm so, so happy for him.”

Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1,487 career games. Today, in his own 1,487th career contest, the Great Eight delivered No. 895.

Upon scoring his record-breaking goal, Ovechkin dove headlong onto the ice in celebration, similar to the diving celebration he first unveiled on the night of Jan. 13, 2006 in Anaheim, when he finished off the first hat trick of his career with a flourish after scoring in overtime to earn his team a 3-2 win over what was a very formidable Ducks team in those days.

His teammates mobbed him instantly, joyously, and fervently immediately after Ovechkin’s weekend work from the office. The Islanders lined up in reverence to shake his hand; the game was paused for about 20 minutes while the League, his teammates and his family came down to ice level to celebrate him and honor him as what he is, the greatest goal scorer the game has ever known.

With assists on the goal that put Ovechkin on the mountaintop, Wilson and Strome are linked to him eternally, a status that has them both humbled and virtually at a loss for words, but with profound respect and admiration for their captain and frequent linemate.

“I just tried to find him on the entry there,” says Wilson. “And then when I was skating to the net, and the puck went in the net, out of the next 15 seconds, I truly just blacked out. I’ve got to watch it back, because I don't remember what happened; it was just chaos.

“It’s just an honor to be living through this and to see this. And you know, 10-year-old me – or 10-year-old any of us – to be able to be in a room with Wayne and Ovi during this moment is so special, and he's taken us on an amazing journey. And it'll be the honor of my career to play with O; I learn so much from him, win with him, watch him score this goal. There's really no words to describe it.

“It makes me a little bit emotional, just because I think so much of him. And to be able to be beside him forever in a big goal, I feel very lucky, I feel very honored to be a part of that. And it’s not about me at all. I’m just really proud, and I love that guy, and I love his family, and I’m really happy for him.”

Wilson reached the 30-assist level for the first time in his career with the primary helper on Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal on Sunday, and Strome reached the 50-assist level for the first time in his career with the primary assist on his first goal in Friday’s game, No. 893.

“Everyone knew how good of a goal scorer he was for his whole career,” says Strome, “and then obviously to win the Stanley Cup in 2018, and to have this; there's good things ahead for us, for sure, but for him to have this, I think he's the greatest goal scorer of all time. I think everyone would agree with that now.

“I think it's an incredible honor, and to be even a little part of it is truly incredible. There's not really words you can say to describe what you're feeling at the time; it’s like you're almost not even focused on the game when it's happening, because you just want him to score and get it not done with, but for him to do it, and complete it. And he's very humble. He doesn't talk about himself, and he doesn't talk about the record. He doesn't say how bad he wants it. It just speaks to his character, of how he conducts himself, and the way he goes about his business. And he's in the history books forever; he already was, but now he's number one, and it's cool to be a part of it.”

As the only player who knows what Ovechkin is going through and dealing with, Gretzky has been a supportive mentor to him, and he has remarked a few times about the effect the chase has on his teammates, while also firmly reminding Ovechkin and wife Nastya that when and if Ovechkin’s record is surpassed, it’s important for the two of them to eagerly pass the baton as Wayne and wife Janet did, and as the late Gordie Howe and his late wife Colleen did when Gretzky surpassed his long-standing mark 31 years earlier.

Gretzky proudly sported a lapel pin with Howe’s No. 9 on it, exclaiming at one point in the locker room after the game – perhaps the most joyous losing locker room in League history; Ovechkin’s goal was the only Caps tally in a 4-1 setback – “He was my idol growing up.”

Also among those on hand were majority owner Ted Leonsis, son Zach Leonsis and their families, Dick Patrick, Brian MacLellan and Ross Mahoney. The sound judgement and stewardship, the wisdom and vision, and especially the patience of these people are among the many reasons why these two days 21 years apart were able to happen for the same player with the same franchise.

That jubilant locker room scene began with another boisterous and sudsy shower for The Gr8 Eight. As he crossed the locker room threshold, Ovechkin was simultaneously doused with a multitude of cold and foamy beverages from giddy teammates. It also included many different permutations of proud photos with various combinations of friends, teammates, staffers, the newly crowned goal king, and all while he proudly displayed the puck that whizzed past Sorokin and flashed his trademark gap-toothed smile.

Speaking of Sorokin, he stopped by, too. With his goalie stick.

“I tell him right away; I need that stick,” Ovechkin told media after the game.

Did you give him anything back?

“He don’t ask me.”

Call it future considerations.

Ovechkin and Gretzky posed together with Sorokin and the stick, the latest addition to Ocho’s ever-burgeoning museum of sticks.

And while it was and will always be a remarkable individual achievement, Ovechkin was only too proud and happy to be able to share it with his family, his teammates. When longtime center Nicklas Backstrom entered the room and the two hugged each other, everyone quickly caught the feels.

“As soon as I saw Nicky, I just want to cry,” says Ovechkin. “And we [hugged], because he was such a big part of my success. We’ve grown up together, we play together, we’ve been in so many different situations together. And that relationship at that moment – and him and Osh being here – it’s tremendous. It’s support, and it’s always been like that. So I tell them, without you, I would never reach that milestone.”

It's very much a two-way street.

“It's awesome; it's great,” says a beaming Backstrom. “All of the players around Ovi, we’re very fortunate and very happy. We got to play with him, first of all. And to be able to be a part of this big night is obviously special, and something he feels, and we feel, so it's mutual.

“It’s a very special night and it means a lot. He is one of those players that – it’s not going to happen for a while. He’s broken one of the records that no one thought was going to be broken.

“That being said, that’s the kind of goal scorer he is, a pure goal scorer. He’s got that fantastic shot, a great personality. He is who he is, he’s the same person he is outside, from inside the locker room; he’s the same person from when he got to the League to now. That’s who he is, and that’s why I think so many people love him and cheer for him.”

Throughout the chase – and especially in that madhouse postgame locker room scene – Ovechkin’s inimitable and effervescent magnetism was on full display, as was the undying love and devotion of those who know him best, his family and his teammates.

“Incredibly special,” begins TJ Oshie, Ovechkin’s teammate for the last decade. “And honestly very emotional for me inside, to have him mention me and give me a little shout out during the biggest accomplishment that the world of hockey has seen in a very long time. I can’t express the amount of joy that I have for him right now, for his family and the things that he has been through the last couple of years – the doubters, the loss of his father, going through all that.

“I’m sure it’s a whirlwind for him right now, but this record is going to be here for a while.”

In addition to Backstrom and Oshie and all his other current teammates, a few other notables were in attendance on Sunday. Ex-Caps teammate Devante Smith-Pelley was in the house, as were Caps assistant GM and longtime draft guru Ross Mahoney and pro scout Marty Pouliot, whose lengthy tenure with the team pre-dates that of Ovechkin.

And with Sunday’s game taking place in New York, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning already in the area to take on the Rangers on Monday in Manhattan, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper took the opportunity to come to the game. Bolts assistant coach Jeff Halpern – the pride of Potomac, Md. – joined him. Halpern was the Caps’ captain for Ovechkin’s first season in the NHL.

Ovechkin’s sprint to 895 has been remarkable; today marked his fifth straight game with a goal, and he has scored six times over that stretch. In beating Sorokin for the first time in his NHL career, Ovechkin increased his unique goaltending victim total to 183.

It was one week ago today – in a home game against Buffalo – that Ovechkin scored career goal No. 890. Two nights later in Boston came 891, and the following night in Carolina, he netted No. 892.

When the Caps stopped home to host Chicago on Friday, there was an overt sense at that morning’s pregame skate that Ovechkin was going to make a splash that night in front of the home folks. He did not disappoint.

Ovechkin scored No. 893 early in the first period and he tied Gretzky’s mark on the power play in the third period. The record-tying tally was also the game-winner that night.

“As this year moved along,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery, “and as he finished last year with the goal pace he did and the way that he started this year before he broke his leg, this was someone that you could tell right away was just so determined to get to this number and to this record, and to win games.

“And I always talk about that, appreciating our captain and a guy that's chasing down one of the greatest individual achievements in all of sports, to be trying to do it in a winning environment, which he has this year as the leader of our team. I’m just really, really happy, proud of him, and I know how much he's gone into this, and training and the practices, and at 39 years old, I’m just thrilled for him and his family.”

The chase and the attention it’s drawn and the sideshow of the relentless media coverage for several weeks now – with virtually the same questions in every city – might have taken a toll on another, but Ovechkin merely went about his business, bouncing some of those questions back like a reverse hit, but never losing his cool.

Many around the team sensed his quiet determination to get it done on Sunday, to not let it linger any longer, and to put it firmly in the rear view. Throughout what has been mostly a magical 50th anniversary season for the Capitals, Ovechkin has constantly sought to swing the attention off himself and to put it back where he has always tried to put it, back on the team.

“Yeah, finally I’m not going to have all these questions – ‘When do you think you going to break it?’ quips Ovechkin. “Now it’s already done, so I’m trying to figure out the next question is going to be. But I think for me and all the boys, it’s a fun time. You can see how many people travel from all over the world to see that moment. It’s special.”

From the time fans started filing into the building late Sunday morning here, there was a notable buzz, and a feeling that today was going to be the day. Chants of “Ovi, Ovi, Ovi!” rang out before puck drop. Just like Friday night’s unforgettable display of goal scoring pyrotechnics at Capital One Arena, no one who was in UBS Arena on Sunday will ever forget it.

“Obviously, it's an individual achievement,” says Carbery. “But for us to help him get there and see it actually come to fruition, you can't describe the feeling of when that puck goes in.

“And I will tell this story for the rest of my life: standing on the bench – and we had a perfect view, because that puck comes lateral, [Ovechkin] is coming down the left side. And this is the true greatness of Alex Ovechkin. I saw – there was nothing. I couldn't even see Sorokin, let alone netting. And he shoots that puck, and I didn't even know how it went in. I don't know how it got through all the different bodies and all the screen. I couldn't even see, and I saw right behind the puck, and it finds a way through, and it beats him short side. It's the ultimate goal-scorers goal for the greatest of all time.”

Ovechkin now has 42 goals this season, two shy of Howe’s NHL record of 44 goals – at age 40 – for the most goals by any player 39 or older. Now closer to his 40th birthday – this September – than his 39th, Ovechkin still has five games remaining with which to catch Howe, and he’s only five goals shy of a big round number – 900.

He also has a year remaining on his contract, and as we mentioned earlier, is showing no signs of slowing down.

“You can’t rationalize that part of it,” says Carbery. “Wayne’s the greatest player to ever play the game. And Wayne was talking to us, and he said he had nine goals in his last season. Now he is a pass first guy, but at 39 years old, to be scoring at the clip that [Ovechkin] is, almost as high as he's ever scored, even at 25, 27, 28, [coming back from a] broken leg, it's unbelievable.

“I think that's one of the things that he'll be remembered by. A lot of people talk about his durability as a player and not getting hurt and that, but what people will reflect on his career about, I think will be how he was able to maintain a level of scoring this late into his career. That is unheard of.”

Ovechkin is an outlier, an anomaly, a larger-than-life figure who brings his teammates into the fight and into the fold, and who would rather they get the accolades and attention than him. He has helped turn Washington from a hockey outpost to a hockey destination, and this story isn’t over yet.

“Ovi is such an amazing part of our career and our story and our life story,” says Oshie. “So for us to be here for his biggest accomplishment, we wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world."

Two of the greatest events in Washington's half-century franchise history – one of them among the greatest events in NHL history – took place on the same date, 21 years apart. One man ties those two seismic occurrences together – Alex Ovechkin, The Gr8 Eight. And as of early afternoon Sunday, the GOAT.

“O finds a way to bring everything together like a storybook, and he did it again,” says Oshie.

And there's more to come.