The legendary Canadian forward watched Ovechkin's feat with his own eyes, congratulated him personally in the locker room after the game and attended the post-game press conference alongside him. "I'm happy that we're on the same page right now. I can enjoy the feeling for at least one more day," said a smiling Gretzky, who single-handedly held the King of Goal Scorers title for 31 years.
Washington 5-3 Chicago
Ovechkin's journey to the goal record was followed with excitement by the whole hockey world.
In the duel with Chicago, Gretzky himself was not absent from the Capital One Arena stands, as he publicly expressed his support for the 39-year-old forward in his pursuit of the record. Ovechkin, despite his age, has walked a mile in pursuit of his dream goal.
During the current season, he was momentarily hampered by a broken leg, for which he missed 16 games, but as soon as he returned to the competitive carousel, he continued the goal-scoring trend and gradually caught up to the historic milestone that for many years seemed unattainable.
His 893rd goal came in the fourth minute against Chicago when the Blackhawks' defense left him momentarily uncovered in front of the net.
Dylan Strome found Ovechkin with a pass, who fired off a shot that first deflected off the crossbar and then off Spencer Knight's back into the net, which Ovi later described as "lucky."
His record 894th goal was the winning goal. He scored in the 47th minute to make it 4-3 when defenseman John Carlson found him on the power play and Great 8, from his typical position in the circle, beat Knight for the second time with an unassisted shot to the near post.
Ovechkin was immediately jumped on by his teammates, joined by other players from the bench, the sold-out arena exploded with enthusiasm. Fans and celebrities in the stands, including Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, gave him a standing ovation. "Ovi, Ovi, Ovi," rang through the hall for several minutes.
"Wayne sent me a message before the game. He texted me to score three goals," Ovechkin revealed, adding of the goal record, "It's a special moment. It's great for hockey, great for the whole capital, great for all our fans that it happened here in Washington."
"It's always a pleasure to be in the same category with such big names. I'm still shaking, I can't believe it," added the Washington captain, who also broke Jaromir Jagr's league record for most game-winning goals in a career with 136.
Ovechkin's 894th goal came during his 1,486th regular-season game, all of them with Washington, which selected him with the first overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
So he made it one game earlier than Gretzky.
The Great One scored the same number of goals in the 1,487 NHL games he played from 1979-1999 for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.
"Alex used to tell me not to go to his games unless he got close to the two-goal differential record," said Gretzky. "Yesterday, I said I better come because maybe he'll get a hat trick. When he scored in the fourth minute, I thought that maybe in the first period it will be painted."
The Russian winger made his NHL debut in 2005 and has been the Capitals' captain since 2010.
He scored 52 goals in his debut season, which earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy for the best rookie in the league. Almost immediately, he became one of the league's top scorers and gradually built his legendary status.
Individually, his most successful season was 2007/2008, when he scored 65 goals and 112 points in 82 games.
He recorded nine 50-goal seasons, a record he holds with Gretzky and Mike Bossy.
Ovi has won the prestigious Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the NHL's top scorer nine times (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), adding the Hart Trophy for the regular season MVP three times (2008, 2009, 2013).
Club success eluded him for longer, until he won the coveted Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018, to which he added the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Stanley Cup Playoff's MVP.
As for the goal record, Ovechkin never planned on which season of his career he might reach the milestone: "I went from game to game, from substitution to substitution. You never know what can happen. We want to enjoy it now and then continue to perform as well as possible. We have six games left in the regular season and our minds are slowly concentrating on the playoffs."
Ovechkin already has 41 goals this season, though he has played only 60 games because of injury. With his first goal against Chicago, he reached the 40-goal mark for the 14th time in his career, breaking his own league record.
He is the only player in history after his 35th birthday to score at least 40 shots in three seasons.
His scoring form has steadily progressed, scoring a total of five times in the last four games.
"He has scored some important goals. Everyone is just concentrating on the record, but he is playing amazing hockey and is a legend. He helps with important goals to our wins, he scores when the team needs it and he is a key part of the team's success this season. He's our captain, our leader and he's playing fantastic," said Ovechkin's teammate Tom Wilson.
The entire Capitals team celebrated with the Russian forward on the ice.
Slovak teammate Martin Fehérváry was also on hand for the record-setting performance, contributing one goal to the victory.
Chicago players also congratulated the all-time leading scorer after the game. Ovechkin celebrated in front of his family, the cameras were mostly focused on his son.
Ovechkin received another ovation after the game upon his arrival to the locker room, where his teammates showered him with beer. "Best shower of my life," the record-holder enjoyed.
Right in the dressing room, Gretzky also congratulated him. The legendary Canadian posed with him next to the puck which Ovechkin scored his 894th goal with. Gretzky had earlier congratulated him in a video posted by the Capitals, "Hey, Ovi! Congratulations on breaking the record. There's a lot of hard work and dedication behind it. I give you a lot of credit for that. I'm excited for you, enjoy it with your family, friends and especially your teammates."
Ovechkin also got a chance to score his 895th goal, which would have put him alone atop the historic scorers' chart, when Chicago's Knight denied him multiple times toward the end of the game.
In a 5-on-6 situation, with the Blackhawks going to an empty net, he didn't even skate onto the ice and refused to try for his 33rd career hat trick: "I told 'Carbs' (coach Spencer Carbery, ed.) that I don't want to do it that way. Dylan Strome, John Carlson and others have asked me about it. I told them, 'Let's wait.'"
Carbery appreciated the move: "I appreciate it. We have six games left in the regular season and he wants to break the record by beating the goalie."
Gretzky admitted in a later press conference that he was surprised when Ovechkin revealed that he didn't want to score his 895th empty-net goal: "I told him that I would take every single goal that I have a chance to score like that without hesitation."
Gretzky knows how much work goes behind record numbers: "People might not realize it, but I do because I went through the same thing Alex did. It's wonderful and joyful, but at the same time you feel a lot of pressure from those around you, you experience the stress of high expectations, you have to answer all those questions. It's not easy. Alex is a real champion. He's done a lot for this league and for hockey."
"I'm happy for (Leonard). He scored his first goal, he's got a great future ahead of him," noted Ovechkin, who then fired three more shots on goal in the final minute, but no more shots were taken. "I had solid chances there. If Stromer (Dylan Strome) would have passed it to me better in one of them, it probably would have gone in."
Ovechkin has a chance to break the historic goal record as early as Sunday at the NY Islanders (6:30 p.m. CST). Gretzky responded with a smile to reporters' questions about whether the Washington winger will be able to establish himself atop the scorers' chart against the Islanders. "He hasn't broken that record yet. So let me enjoy it a little bit more," he said.