Alex Ovechkin stands alone atop the NHL record books as the greatest goal scorer in league history. Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders on Sunday to pass the legendary Wayne Gretzky for the most all-time.
In the second period, with the Washington Capitals on the power play, Ovechkin took a pass from Tom Wilson and wired a wrist shot past Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin. Everyone, including the opposing fans in UBS Arena, exploded with cheers as Ovechkin went sliding across the ice on his stomach.
An on-ice ceremony followed, and it included speeches from Gretzky and Ovechkin, as well as a tribute video featuring major stars from other sports.
After the game, and once the locker room celebration wound down, Ovechkin spoke to reporters to address how it felt to pass “The Great One.” He also commented on what it meant to have some old teammates in the building, as well as the relief of finally breaking the record after so much anticipation.
Here is everything Ovechkin said in his postgame press conference after breaking Gretzky’s all-time goals record:
On how it feels to break Wayne Gretzky’s record:
“To be honest with you, when I was tying the record, I still can’t believe it. It was so emotional. Such a great night. But this is something crazier. I’m probably gonna need a couple of days, maybe a couple weeks, to realize what does it mean to be No. 1?
“I’m very proud for myself. I’m very proud for my family and for all my teammates who help me reach that milestone. And for all my coaches. It’s huge. It’s an unbelievable moment.”
On whether there’s a weight off his shoulders:
“Yeah, finally I’m not gonna have those questions. ‘When do you think you’re gonna break it?’ It’s already done, so try to figure out what the next question is gonna be. For me, and for all the boys, it’s a fun time. You can see how many people traveled from all over the world to see that moment. It’s special.”
On Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin giving him his stick:
“I tell him right away, ‘I need that stick.’ … He don’t ask me (for anything back).”
On his belly flop celebration after the record-breaking moment:
“No, ice was bad today. I fell, and I’m pretty sure it’s a pretty cool moment. It’s cool.”
On what it’s like to bring so much attention to hockey:
“It’s great. It’s great for the game. It’s great for D.C. It’s great for Washington. It’s great for us to be involved in this moment. I’m pretty sure right now in D.C. there’s something crazy happening. Especially at home in Russia, people celebrate. They’re happy. I’m just happy to be part of it.”
On his longtime teammates Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie being in attendance:
“As soon as I saw Nicky, I just want to cry. He was such a big part of my success. We’ve grown up together. We play together. We’ve been in so many different situations together. That relationship in that moment, him and (Oshie) being here, it’s tremendous. It’s support. It’s always been like that. I tell them, ‘Without you, I would never hit that milestone.'”
On Sorokin congratulating him after getting scored on:
“Before the game, me and (Dylan Strome) talk about I’ve never scored against him. I think I’ve only played like two games (against him). It’s kind of a historical moment, Russian scores against Russian to set the record. It’s pretty cool. He’s such a good kid. My kids love him. It’s tremendous moment. It’s tremendous day for hockey.”
On Tom Wilson assisting on the record-breaking goal:
“He’s such a great man. He can do whatever. He can fight. He can do all different situations. I’m happy for him. I’m happy for (Strome). Strome is probably one of the happiest guys in the whole world because he’s crazy about the stats. He knows everything, and he just wants to be in that history.”
On what went through his mind on the power play:
“Through the whole first period, we have good chances. (Sorokin) made some great saves. It’s just the situation, like I said. Game by game and shift by shift, we’ll see what happens. Obviously, it was a great pass by Tom, and I just fire it, and it went in.”
On getting a congratulatory video from stars like LeBron James and Michael Jordan:
“It’s such a cool moment for me to have a video from legends. It’s gonna be forever, and I’m thankful to them for the video. I’m happy, and I can’t wait to go home.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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