Arise, Ovech-king: NHL's top scorer

Ovechkin got a portrait of himself and Gretzky. Janet Gretzky presented a gift to Ovechkin's wife, Anastasia, just as Colleen Howe did when her husband broke Gordie's record back in 1994.

Ovechkin got No 895 in his 1,487th game — the same number Gretzky finished with.

Gretzky shook Ovechkin's hand, embraced him and congratulated the "Great 8" and his family for the accomplishment.

"They say records are made to be broken, but I'm not sure who's going to get more goals than that," Gretzky said.

Ovechkin took the microphone from Gretzky like a torch being passed from one legend of the game to another. He thanked injured teammates Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2018, and expressed his affection for his wife, mother and two sons standing nearby.

"We did it, boys. We did it," Ovechkin said. "And, the most important thing, to my mom, my family, my beautiful wife, my father-in-law, my beautiful kids, thank you. I love you so much, and without you, without your support, I would never stand here."

More chants of his name followed. Plenty more will be coming as he attempts to reach 900.

Gretzky's total of 894 goals had long seemed unapproachable. Ovechkin passed it, even after missing 16 games in November and December because of a broken left leg, a testament to his durability and knack for putting the puck in the net consistently for two decades. He surpassed 40 goals this season for a 14th time — two more than Gretzky, and also the most in league history — and now has 42.

"To do what he's doing at this age is incredible," said longtime teammate John Carlson, who assisted on tying goal No 894.

"I think people are sleeping on that, too. Just, like, he missed two months and he might score 50 goals. Like, that's nuts. It's crazy."

The chase by the Great 8, a nickname honoring his jersey number, captured attention from North America to Ovechkin's native Russia, where billboards and goal counters tracked his effort. It helped Ovechkin that his team is one of the best in the NHL this season, defying expectations.

Gretzky broke Howe's record a little more than 31 years ago, since he scored 802 on March 23, 1994. He added 92 more before retiring in 1999 after a total of 1,487 games over 20 seasons.

Even with this one falling to Ovechkin, Gretzky holds 54 NHL records, and two seem truly untouchable: 2,857 total points and 1,963 assists, the latter of which is more than anyone else has in goals and assists combined.

For NHL playoff goals, which do not count toward the record, Gretzky has the most (122). Ovechkin has 72. Gretzky also had another 56 in the World Hockey Association regular season and playoffs, while Ovechkin has 57 from his time in the KHL, Russia's top league.

Returning to Russia to play in front of family and friends is an option at some point for Ovechkin, who, after this season, has one left on the five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021, which took him through age 40 to give him enough time to chase Gretzky's record. Instead, he got it done earlier than just about anyone could have realistically expected.

Agencies via Xinhua