April 6, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

It was a record that many people thought would never be broken. Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe by scoring his 802nd NHL goal on March 23, 1994. The Great One scored 894 goals in his illustrious NHL career when it was all said and done. 31 years and 14 days later, the record that was once thought to be unbreakable was broken by Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. 

Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal on Sunday, April 6, 2025 against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The goal was scored on the powerplay at 7:26 of the second period. Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome got the assists on the goal scored against Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. That goal made the score 2-1 for the Islanders.

Ovechkin received a pass from Wilson just above the top of the left circle, and then stepped into a wrist shot from the top of the circle that beat Sorokin cleanly. Ovechkin celebrated by doing a swan dive and sliding towards centre ice on his stomach. Naturally, the goal had to be celebrated with Ovechkin’s typical flare.

The record tying goal, which was scored on Friday, April 4, 2025 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, was a one-timer from the left circle on the powerplay at 6:13 of the third period. It ended up being the game-winning goal in a 5-3 Capitals victory. The Great Eight has made a living scoring goals from the left circle, so it was totally fitting that the record tying and breaking goals were both powerplay goals from the left circle.

Ovechkin can now add “NHL’s All-Time Leading Goal Scorer” to his incredible list of accomplishments. He’s also the all-time leader in powerplay goals and empty net goals. The Great Eight has more forty-goal seasons (14) than anyone in history, and he’s tied with Gretzky and Islanders legend Mike Bossy for the most fifty-goal seasons (9). He has won nine Rocket RIchard trophies, three Hart Trophies, three Ted Lindsay awards, and the Calder Trophy. Ovechkin had the time of his life while celebrating after winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2018.

The Great Eight’s accomplishment is made even more incredible by the fact that he ranks third all-time in hits. Ovechkin’s unique mix of goal scoring and physicality makes him the greatest power forward of all-time. The fact that he’s been as durable as he’s been in his career playing the way he does is a testament to his strength and toughness. Let’s not forget that Ovechkin missed 16 games earlier this season after breaking his leg, and he was still able to break this record with his 42nd goal of the season at the age of 39.

The record was broken in Ovechkin’s 1487th career NHL game, which is exactly the amount of games that Gretzky played. The way that worked out is crazy! For the Gretzky fans out there, I’ll note that Gretzky did not score a goal in the final eight games of his career, so technically Gretzky scored his 894 goals in a span 1479 games. Gretzky also scored 122 NHL playoff goals compared to Ovechkin’s 72. We thought that the goal scoring record would never be touched, but Gretzky’s 2857 point total will never be touched. Even if Gretzky had never scored a goal in his career, he would have more points than the second leading all-time points scorer (Jaromir Jagr, 1921 points) with his assists total (1963) alone. WHat Gretzky did in his career was beyond incredible. Gretzky wearing a red and white pin with Howe’s number “9” on it while Ovechkin broke his goal scoring record was a nice touch.

Congratulations to Alexander Ovechkin, his family, and the Washington Capitals on this tremendous achievement. Whether you like him or hate him, he’s immensely talented and there’s no denying that he has a ton of entertainment value. He’s at 895 goals and counting. He will inevitably get to 900 goals. I’m excited to see how many he finishes with.