Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record

The arena erupted Sunday as Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin made history scoring his 895th goal, surpassing the NHL record set by Wayne Gretzky.

Fans chanted “Ovi” in celebration after his goal. All eyes had been on Ovechkin, in recent weeks as he neared the record and on Sunday, his family was in the stands to celebrate the moment with Gretzky also in attendance.

The record has stood since 1999, when Gretzky scored his 894th goal with the New York Rangers in his 20th and final season.

Ovechkin’s goal also came less than two weeks before the team’s final regular-season game on April 17.

Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made their way to the ice to congratulate Ovechkin following the goal.

Some of Ovechkin’s teammates commented on the anticipation facing their teammate, with John Carlson telling reporters it felt “extremely doable.”

“I think the last few games you could sense it a little bit, but obviously on home ice, within something extremely doable for the guy, it felt different the whole night,” said Carlson, who passed the puck to Ovechkin to score goal No. 894 on Friday.

—with files from The Associated Press

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