There are moments in sports where you remember where you were. There are milestones any athlete can break that will have you on the edge of your seat. For 20 seasons, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has been on the edge of ours. Now he's all alone with 895 career goals.
Alex Ovechkin stands alone as number one all-time in goals
Many thought Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record that he set 31 seasons ago would never be broken. Yet here we are. On Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena against the New York Islanders in the second period, the Caps would go to the power play.
On the man advantage Tom Wilson found Ovechkin cross ice from none other than his office on the left face off circle and The Great Eight let her rip. It went past Islanders golatender Ilya Sorokin and on came the celebration. Ovechkin went fully belly flop on the ice as his teammates mobbed him and the game stopped.
Wayne Gretzky was on hand for the second game in a row and he clapped proudly like a good sport while wearing a number nine pin in honor of Gordie Howe. Lots of Caps fans turned out. Ovechkin's family would greet him after him and Gretzky embraced. That included Ovechkin's mother Tatyana, wife Nastya, and children Sergei and Ilya.
Ovechkin's father in law Kirill Shubsky along with Caps owner Ted Leonsis and Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and Devante Smith-Pelly were on hand as well. Ovechkin got the record in his 1,487th game which was the same amount it took Gretzky to get his 894.
The game was stopped for an on ice ceremony that was about 22 minutes long. Gretzky, Ovechkin and League commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the crowd.
Sorokin was just one of 29 goalies who had faced an Ovechkin shot and not given up a goal entering the contest. Now he's the 183rd different goaltender Ovechkin has scored on.
Ovechkin did a lot more than score 895 goals and counting. He helped save a sport that desprately needed saving. Remember when the Caps drafted Ovechkin in 2004 there was a work stoppage and a season long lockout. When that happened nobody knew how the sport would be saved.
But Ovechkin notched his first career goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets one year later and there was no looking back since. Multiple MVPs, a Stanley Cup, and now the NHL's all-time goal scoring king.