They were chanting his name before the game even began, as the 39-year-old superstar on the verge of history stood along the blue line and was announced in the starting lineup. They were chanting his name less than four minutes into the first period, when he scored the 893rd goal of his career to move within two of breaking a record once considered unbreakable. His name again rang from every corner of Capital One Arena when he rifled home a trademark power-play one-timer in the third period, using the shot he’s best known for to get one step closer.
After that, he heard his name every time he stepped on the ice. Alex Ovechkin scored two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday to tie Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 — a mark he reached in 1,486 career games. Gretzky needed 1,487 to score his 894.
The Capitals won, 5-3, allowing Ovechkin’s second goal to stand as the game-winner, helping him break a different record in the process. Ovechkin’s 136th winner broke Jaromir Jagr’s mark for such goals.
“I’m still a little shaking and still can’t believe it,” Ovechkin said. “It’s nice that my family here, my mom, my wife, my kids, father-in-law; lots of friends came from lots of different cities. It’s history. It’s great for the game. It’s great to do it here. It’s special.”
There was a different energy around Ovechkin all day, from his relaxed, almost jovial news conference Friday morning until he walked to the podium with a Bud Light in his hand after matching Gretzky. His teammates could sense it, too. On the precipice of the milestone, Ovechkin was as loose as he has been all season, and it showed.
His first of the game came just eight seconds into his second shift, befitting for the player whose No. 8 has been worn on the backs of a generation of hockey fans in the District. Center Dylan Strome, from behind the net, spotted Ovechkin in a pocket of space at the bottom of the right faceoff circle, and Ovechkin snapped a shot off the post and into the net behind Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight, igniting a crowd that had been primed to erupt long before the game began.
“He gets that one in the first, and we were kind of saying before the game, if he gets one in the first, then look out because he seems to score in bunches,” Strome said. “It was just one of those things that was meant to happen. Destiny. So glad we could be a part of it.”
The jubilant Capitals didn’t make things easy for themselves, allowing goals to the Blackhawks at 13:55 of the first period and just 31 seconds into the second period, putting them at a one-goal deficit. Defenseman Martin Fehervary tied it at 7:09 of the second, but Philipp Kurashev gave the Blackhawks the lead again just 10 seconds later.
The Capitals went on the power play for the first time midway through the second when Frank Nazar was whistled for slashing against defenseman Matt Roy. That injected another jolt of anticipation into the fans, who know what Ovechkin can do on the man advantage.
Washington came up short that time. On its next power play early in the third period, Ovechkin came inches away from picking up his second of the game. The shot from Strome instead deflected off Chicago defender Connor Murphy as Ovechkin was shoving his blade toward the loose puck in front of Knight. The crowd thought the goal might have been Ovechkin’s, but Strome knew right away it was his.
The next time the Capitals were on the power play, just about the entirety of the sold-out crowd of 18,573 rose to watch Ovechkin. They chanted his name again as the man advantage began, and this time, their chants were rewarded.
Defenseman John Carlson, as he has more times than anyone not named Nicklas Backstrom, passed the puck to Ovechkin in his office in the left faceoff circle, and Ovechkin fired it home the way he has dozens, if not hundreds, of times in his career. It looked the same as many of the others, but it meant much more.
Ovechkin’s teammates streamed onto the ice to celebrate, a move winger Tom Wilson wasn’t sure would be permitted but one he couldn’t resist. “Screw it, I’m going,” Wilson recalled thinking as he watched the puck hit the back of the net.
“I mean, how I’m always say, without my teammates I would never reach that milestone,” Ovechkin said. “It’s such a great — like, I was lucky enough to play with great players.”
As the crowd celebrated, Ovechkin skated to the glass to celebrate with his son Sergei, then turned to where Gretzky sat in a suite and bowed to the man whose record he had just equaled.
“Seeing him skate over and bow down to Wayne’s box, it was just shivers,” Wilson said.
With two goals already, there was hope (belief?) that Ovechkin would complete the hat trick to break the record — just as he scored his 800th career goal with a hat trick against Chicago in December 2022. Ovechkin skated in alone on Knight with just over four minutes left, but for a brief moment he looked like a typical 39-year-old as he looked for a wraparound attempt before losing control of the puck.
With exactly two minutes left, Knight skated to the bench. The crowd again rose in anticipation, waiting for Ovechkin to take the ice. But Ovechkin, by his own request, never made it out while Knight was on the bench; rookie Ryan Leonard scored his first NHL goal into the empty net instead.
“He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease, which I appreciate. He didn’t want to go out,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said. “ … He told me that on the bench, and I just wanted to confirm and make sure that he didn’t want to go out.”
Knight returned to his cage, but Ovechkin’s quest continued into the last seconds. Four shot attempts in the final 1:18 were kept out — one save by Knight, three misses wide, all not quite enough to become goal No. 895.
“I have a pretty good chances in the last minute,” Ovechkin said. “Stromer gave me nice passes. … I think I tell Carbs right away, I don’t want to do it [in an empty net].”
Before the season began, Washington General Manager Chris Patrick was asked what a realistic expectation for Ovechkin’s year might be.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had this situation: a player this old that can still score at the level he can score at,” Patrick said. “I think also, a question about realistic with Alex is a tough question.”
It may not have seemed realistic then, but it does now. Ovechkin entered the season needing 42 goals to break Gretzky’s record. And after 894 lamplighters, he needs just one more goal to stand alone.
