Gretzky's record is broken: Alexander Ovechkin became the best sniper in the history of the NHL

On April 6, Alexander Ovechkin managed to break Wayne Gretzky's legendary record for the number of goals in the NHL regular season, which no one has been able to surpass for more than 25 years. In the second period, the captain of the Washington Capitals scored his 895th goal against the New York Islanders. This historic moment made 39-year-old Alexander Ovechkin the top scorer in NHL history. Read more about how a Russian hockey player managed to break the greatest sports record in the Izvestia article.

A historic goal: how Ovechkin broke Gretsky's record

On Sunday, April 6, the Washington Capitals — New York Islanders match took place. In a tense game against the New York Islanders, Ovechkin showed all his best qualities. It seemed like he had been preparing for this moment all his career. In the second period, with the score 2-0 in favor of the Islanders, he received a pass from a teammate and, without hesitation, made a powerful throw. A split second later, the puck was in the New York Islanders net.

Photo: REUTERS/Geoff Burke

This goal was the 895th in Ovechkin's career, which allowed him to surpass Gretzky's achievement, which lasted for more than a quarter of a century. At this legendary moment, the arena exploded with delight, and Alexander himself was surrounded by teammates who congratulated him on his historic achievement.

Alexander Ovechkin Award Ceremony

The NHL started making plans to celebrate the record goal a few months ago. All major US news channels decided to show Ovechkin's award ceremony live after the record. In addition, a huge team of technical staff comes to the last Capitals games, which rehearses the award ceremony on the ice before each meeting.

"We treat this and every next game Alex participates in like a Stanley Cup Playoff game. We take all the materials for the ceremony to each city. Wherever we go, there is a full-scale rehearsal. The video that will be a part of it. The ribbon board. The whole place will turn into Ovie Land," said NHL president of Content, Events, and Production Steve Mayer.

ESPN and TNT TV channels assigned OviCast personal camera to Ovechkin. She was first involved in the match against Carolina, in which Washington lost 1-5, but it was the Russian forward who scored the only goal of the capital's team.

It was decided that when Ovechkin broke Gretzky's record, the League would allow all Washington players to take to the ice and celebrate with him. It doesn't matter how much time remains before the end of the match, it will be interrupted for the sake of a grand event. The last time this happened was in 1994, when Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record.

How Ovechkin went to the record: sports career

Alexander Ovechkin was born on September 17, 1985 in Moscow into a family of professional athletes. His mother, Tatiana Ovechkina (nee Kabanova), was a famous basketball player, two-time Olympic champion (1976 and 1980), and his father, Mikhail Ovechkin, played football at a professional level. Sports genes and the appropriate atmosphere in the family have determined his fate since childhood.

At the age of three, he picked up a hockey stick for the first time, and at the age of five, his parents took him to the Dynamo Moscow sports school. Despite his natural talents, his path in hockey was not easy: training was grueling, and competition among young athletes was high. However, his perseverance, incredible hard work and love of the game helped him quickly stand out among his peers.

His older brother Sergey had a great influence on the young Alexander. It was he who instilled in him a love of hockey and became an example for a young athlete. Unfortunately, when Alexander was ten years old, Sergei tragically died in an accident. This event greatly influenced the future hockey player: he vowed to achieve success in sports at all costs and dedicated his career to the memory of his brother.

By the age of 16, Ovechkin was already considered one of the most promising players in his age category. In 2001, he made his debut in the main squad of Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Super League, becoming one of the youngest in the team. In his first season, Ovechkin played 21 games, scoring 4 goals and making 2 assists.

The next few years were a period of rapid progress for Ovechkin. In the 2002-03 season, he was already a full-fledged player in the main squad and scored 15 (8+7) points in 40 matches. At the same time, he became the youngest player in the history of the Russian championship to score 10 goals in a season.

The real breakthrough came in the 2003-04 season, when Ovechkin became one of the team's leaders, scoring 23 (13+10) points in 53 games. He showed himself confidently in attack, demonstrating a powerful throw, speed and incredible physical fitness. During this period, he began to be involved in the Russian national team, and also became the main candidate for the first number of the NHL draft.

In the 2004-05 season, when many players returned to Russia due to the NHL lockout, Dynamo was reinforced by top hockey players. Ovechkin's contribution helped the team win gold at the Russian Championship. This success marked the bright end of the athlete's career in the Russian club before leaving overseas.

In 2003, at the age of 17, Ovechkin was called up to the Russian national team for the first time, which became an international recognition of his talent. His successful performances for Dynamo attracted the attention of scouts from the National Hockey League, and in 2004 he was selected number one in the NHL draft by the Washington Capitals.

In the fall of 2012, the NHL lockout began again, and many stars went to play in Europe. Ovechkin decided to return to Dynamo despite offers from other Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) clubs. During this period, he played 31 matches, scoring 19 goals and making 21 assists (40 points). He continued to show a high level of play, and his leadership helped the team to fight for high positions. When the lockout ended in January 2013, Ovechkin returned to the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin first set himself the goal of breaking Gretzky's record in 2019. The Canadian striker's record for the most goals in the NHL regular season was set in 1994, when he scored his 802nd goal. He subsequently added 92 more goals to that number, finishing his career with 894 goals in 1999 after 20 seasons in the NHL.

Six years later, in the 2024/25 season, Ovechkin managed to break Gretsky's record. By the spring of 2025, he had less than five goals left before reaching the mark of the Canadian spyper. On April 5, 2025, Ovechkin scored two goals in a match against the Chicago Blackhawks, repeating Gretzky's record of 894 goals. This moment has become a historic one for world hockey. To reach this mark, Ovechkin needed to play one less game than Gretzky: 1486 against 1487. On the same day, the Russian striker was recognized as the first and second stars of the last game day in the NHL at the same time.

Alexander Ovechkin's main achievements

Alexander Ovechkin is one of the most successful hockey players in the history of the NHL. During his career, the Russian sniper has won many awards and titles, including:

— 2018 Stanley Cup winner: Ovechkin led the Washington Capitals to the first Stanley Cup victory in the club's history, becoming the first Russian captain to win the trophy.;

— Three-time world champion: The Russian hockey player won the world championships in 2008, 2012 and 2014 as a member of the Russian national team.;

— nine-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy: Ovechkin became the NHL's best sniper nine times;

— winner of the Hart Trophy: the leader of the Washington Capitals was recognized three times as the most valuable player in the NHL by journalists;

— Gagarin Cup 2013, which Ovechkin won with Dynamo Moscow;

— record for goals at the age of 35+ years: Ovechkin became the first player to score 40+ goals in three seasons after 35 years.

Why Ovechkin's record is important for world hockey

Alexander Ovechkin's record is of great importance not only for himself, but for the entire hockey community. Gretzky's record was considered unsurpassed for more than 26 years, and many doubted the possibility of repeating it. Ovechkin's statistics should have gotten worse due to his age. In addition, during his career, the NHL went through lockouts twice, when games were not played due to the lack of an agreement between the league and hockey players.

Despite this, Ovechkin maintained a high pace, rapidly approaching the record every year to finally break it on April 6, 2025. Thanks in large part to their fighting spirit, Washington holds a leading position in the NHL for the first time since the championship season and is considered one of the contenders for the Stanley Cup.

Who congratulated Ovechkin on his new record

The TV channels of the National Media Group (NMG) holding and the performer, the leader of the Hands Up! group, Sergey Zhukov, congratulated the Russian forward of the Washington Capitals hockey club, Alexander Ovechkin, with a world record clip for his favorite song from the repertoire of the musical group.

The video features the famous track "I'm already 18" with lyrics specially written by Zhukov for the record goal. It also brings together athletes from the Continental and Youth Hockey Leagues (KHL, MHL), as well as actors from the TV series Molodezhka.

Zhukov noted that, like the whole country, he was worried about Ovechkin and was looking forward to the record. The singer called him not only a hockey legend, but also a man who can support him at any moment.