Photograph by Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesHe did it. He really did it. Alex Ovechkin, the greatest player in Washington Capitals history, just became the National Hockey League’s all-time leading goal scorer with 895 goals, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s career total of 894 goals to break a record tha t was long thought to be completely unbreakable. Eight hundred and ninety-five goals. That’s a freaking lot! Ovechkin’s record-setting goal came on a power play during the second period of Sunday afternoon’s game against the New York Islanders. With Gretzky in attendance, play stopped so players and fans could celebrate the moment.  Ovechkin’s historic goal came in the 1,487th game of his career, the same as Gretzky’s career game total. In a way, the historic goal was a relief. A few seasons ago, Ovechkin’s chance of passing Gretzky seemed doable but distant, possible but hardly assured. He was still a formidable and consistent scorer, but also getting older, grayer, moving deeper into his 30s, the point in an athlete’s career where a single bad injury—or just the cumulative effects of wear and tear and advancing age—can push the wheels into suddenly falling off.  Only Ovi kept scoring. And scoring. And scoring. Short-side lasers from his office, the shots you’ve literally seen hundreds of times. As the now-39-year-old got closer and closer to the record this winter and spring, the weight on his shoulders mounted—and on ours, too. We did the math every day, calculating his per game average, checking how many games the Caps had left, wondering and worrying if this moment would have to wait until next season. But now? No more pressure, no more worries. We can simply think about the playoffs. Photograph by Patrick Smith/Getty Images Also: we can bask. Let’s reflect for a minute! After all, Ovechkin isn’t just a hockey player. Not here. He’s been the rock of DC’s sports scene for nearly 20 years, a constant presence and star over a span that has seen the Commanders mostly bumble, the Wizards mostly stumble, and the Nationals, Mystics, Spirit, and United go through thrilling peaks and deep valleys. (As for our other favorite sport, national politics and the White House? The less said about the last two decades, the better).  Ovechkin showed up in 2004—just a few months after a little-known Illinois state senator named Barack Obama gave a stemwinding speech at the Democratic National Convention—as a grinning, high-octane Russian wrecking ball, and immediately started doing things that seemed impossible, like his seminal goal in 2006 against the Coyotes. He’s been the epitome of consistency, too, starting his career with an insane 52-goal season and scoring at least 30 goals in every season since (well, minus the Covid-shortened season where he scored 24 in 45 games). In 2018, he even helped bring Washington a Stanley Cup, exorcising years of inexplicable postseason failures. (Ovechkin then celebrated all summer with us, because of course he did).  Ovechkin’s records don’t stop with the all-time goals mark. He’s also scored the most overtime goals; most empty net goals; most power play goals; most career game-opening goals; most career 30, 35, 40, 45 & 50 goal seasons; most goalies scored on; and probably some others we’re forgetting. He’s done all of this for the Caps, which makes it especially sweet. We watched him grow up, start a family, sign multiple contracts, and play for one team in one place for the duration of his career, something that doesn’t happen much, if at all, in this era of sports, in which Tom Brady ends up in Tampa; LeBron James leaves Cleveland, comes back, and leaves again; and Juan Soto ends up in New York, twice. (Yep, we’re still bitter). Caps fans celebrate history. Photo by Evy Mages Over his 20-year career, Ovechkin has dealt with lockouts, a pandemic, Father Time, and all those playoff losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins. And he wasn’t phased. He kept shooting, kept scoring. Russian machine never breaks. So what’s next? Maybe it’s time for another Cup. Or maybe, just maybe, 1,000 goals are in reach. Why not? Ovechkin clearly has more left in the tank. And after 895 goals, the seemingly impossible is a whole lot less so.The post Alex Ovechkin Passes Wayne Gretzky to Become the NHL’s All-Time Goal Leader first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less