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Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career NHL goal to break Wayne Gretzky’s record. Photo: geoff burke/Reuters
Alex Ovechkin was barely out of his teens when he first skated onto an NHL rink and made it his life’s work to chip away at history.
At that point, back in 2005, the whirlwind from Moscow knew he was 894 goals short of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record. He could scarcely dream of ever approaching it. But Ovechkin got to work fast. He scored twice on his debut, launching a 20-year mission to catch The Great One.
On Sunday, Ovechkin finally got there. With a powerful wrist shot against the New York Islanders, he notched the 895th goal of his NHL career to surpass Gretzky and claim for himself what had seemed like one of the last untouchable records in all of sports.
“I felt like I scored the goal, honestly when you scored the goal, I was so happy for you,” Gretzky told Ovechkin after the game.
What made it all the more remarkable was that Ovechkin did it in his own way.
Gretzky had scored at a devastating clip for an absurdly long time—20 NHL seasons that saw him turn from a wiry 18-year-old into the league’s elder statesman. He did it with speed, superior skills and passing wiles that allowed him to rack up goals by the dozen and helped his teammates do the same. Gretzky’s total of 1,963 career assists is also an all-time record, more than 50% higher than the player in second place.
Wayne Gretzky, right, celebrates after scoring a goal in 1981. Photo: Clem Murray/Associated Press
Ovechkin wasn’t as generous. The self-dubbed “Russian Machine” got there with brute force and a singular focus that prioritized scoring above all else. Not for the last time, his timing was perfect. The longer he stuck around, the more the NHL evolved to suit his style of play.
Like Gretzky, Ovechkin arrived as a fearless teenager. In the early years of his career, the Capitals winger overwhelmed opponents with his speed and power. He led the NHL in shots on goal in 10 of his first 11 seasons and practically turned the left circle into his second home.
Meanwhile, the style of play in the NHL became faster and a little less bruising than it had been in the aughts—and far less brutal than it was in Gretzky’s heyday. As it turned out, these were changes that Ovechkin was uniquely suited to exploit.
Ovechkin was the Washington Capitals’ No. 1 draft pick in 2004. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
He combined his relentless physicality with a willingness to launch unorthodox shots the moment he caught sight of the net. Ovechkin’s signature became a curved blade that causes one-timers to wobble through air like a knuckleball.
Goalies who have faced him say that it’s almost impossible to anticipate where his shots will go. Given the speed of the puck, catching it is practically out of the question. Their best hope is putting a body part in the way—and hoping a Capitals teammate isn’t there to redirect the ricochet into the net.
That technique has stayed with Ovechkin deep into his 30s, even though he isn’t as quick as he once was. According to advanced NHL statistics, both his top speed and his speed bursts are below average for the league this season.
While his body may be moving slower, the pucks he launches toward goal most definitely are not. More of Ovechkin’s shots have topped 70 miles an hour than 99% of the NHL. From the left circle—the spot where he launched his record-breaking shot on Sunday—he’s lethal as ever.
None of it would have been possible without a rare level of durability in a sport where players routinely bash each others’ teeth in.
Ovechkin, holds up the Stanley Cup trophy in 2018. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
Ovechkin is currently skating in his 20th NHL campaign and approaching Gretzky’s total of 1,567 regular season games. Ovechkin, who had to endure the 2012-13 lockout and the pandemic, is only at 1,487 for his career, but has managed to be on the ice in a staggering 95% of all possible outings for the Capitals.
That’s a remarkable rate, especially in hockey, where load management is all but a myth and players pride themselves on skating hurt.
“Russian Machine never breaks,” Ovechkin once said, after limping off the ice courtesy of a slap shot to the foot. “I am a little bit crazy.”
Crazy, and also lucky. Throughout his career, Ovechkin largely dodged serious injury until last November, when he fractured his fibula after getting clipped in the leg by an opposing defender. It turned into the longest injury layoff of his career—and it lasted just 16 games.
There was a slight slump when he returned, which he firmly banished with a hat trick in late February. Since then, he’s averaged 0.79 goals per game. The Russian Machine had resumed normal service.
“I’m happy,” Ovechkin said after the game, “And I can’t wait to go home.”
