Sports

Ovechkin Surpasses Gretzky as NHL's All-Time Goal Scorer

APR 7 2025·Updated APR 8 2025

#Sports

Ovechkin Surpasses Gretzky as NHL's All-Time Goal Scorer

Story

Above: Alex Ovechkin celebrates after scoring his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena on April 6, 2025. Image credit: Steven Ryan/Contributor/NHLI via Getty Images

The Facts

Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin became the National Hockey League's (NHL) greatest all-time goal scorer when he scored his 895th career goal Sunday against the New York Islanders, surpassing Wayne Gretzky's previous record of 894 goals, which stood for 31 years.
BBC News
NBC
X
The historic goal came during a power play in the second period, with Ovechkin firing his signature shot from the left circle past Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, marking his 325th career power-play goal and extending his record in that category.
NHL
New York Post
Ovechkin reached the milestone in his 1,487th game — exactly the same number of games Gretzky played in his NHL career. However, Ovechkin achieved this feat despite missing multiple games due to lockouts and the pandemic.
nytimes
FOX News
The game was paused for a 15-minute ceremony featuring NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Gretzky. The latter wore a No. 9 pin on his jacket lapel to honor Gordie Howe, who held the goal record before him.
NHL
Youtube
"This is something crazy," Ovechkin said. "It's huge. It's unbelievable. It's an unbelievable moment and I'm happy." At age 39, he has scored 42 goals this season, marking his 14th 40-goal season — two more than Gretzky's record.
NHL
CBS News
The achievement came after Ovechkin tied Gretzky's record with two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, deliberately choosing not to attempt breaking the record with an empty-net goal.
CBS News
Yahoo! News

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

This record-breaking achievement solidifies Ovechkin's status as hockey's greatest goal-scorer. He has demonstrated remarkable consistency and durability throughout his career — particularly impressive given that he accomplished this feat in an era with significantly better goaltending and more defensive systems than during Gretzky's time.

nytimes

Narrative B

While Ovechkin's milestone is extraordinary, Gretzky's overall impact on hockey remains unmatched. Gretzky still holds 55 NHL records and achieved his goal-scoring feat in an era without modern training methods and equipment advantages, making his broader legacy arguably more impressive.