Ovechkin's road to breaking Gretzky's goals record

Alex Ovechkin is the NHL's all-time goal leader.

With a power-play goal against the New York Islanders on Sunday, Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky with No. 895.

Gretzky's 894 goals had stood as the benchmark since he retired in 1999, but Ovechkin entered the season just 41 goals back of tying it.

He got that 42nd goal in New York, achieving the feat in 1,487 career games.

Here is how Ovechkin got there this season.

Goal No. 895
Breaks Gretzky's record
Date: April 6, 2025
Alex Ovechkin stands alone atop the NHL's all-time goals list. The Washington Capitals captain broke Wayne Gretzky's record on a second-period power play against the Islanders, beating Ilya Sorokin for the first time in his career.

Goal No. 894
Tied with Gretzky, one behind record
Date: April 4, 2025
The great Wayne Gretzky officially has company at the top of the NHL's all-time goals list. Ovechkin wired a one-timer off the left post and past the stick of Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight for his 41st goal of the year while also breaking a 3-3 tie midway through the third period. Two all-time greats now stand side-by-side.

Goal No. 893
One behind Gretzky, two behind record
Date: April 4, 2025
Ovechkin wasted no time finding the back of the net against the Blackhawks, burying a quick wrister past netminder Spencer Knight just 3:52 into the contest. It was his 40th goal of the year, the 14th time he's reached that mark in 20 NHL seasons.

Goal No. 892
Two behind Gretzky, three behind record
Date: April 2, 2025
Ovechkin took a signature one-time from the left faceoff circle with the Capitals on a two-man advantage. It was his 39th goal of the season as he directed some traffic to make sure he got a chance to wire it past Hurricanes' goaltender Frederik Andersen.

Goal No. 891
Three behind Gretzky, four behind record
Date: April 1, 2025
Ovechkin easily potted a power-play goal into the open half of the net off a nice redirect from Dylan Strome. His 38th of the season also tied the NHL record for most career first-period goals (241).

Goal No. 890
Four behind Gretzky, five behind record
Date: March 30, 2025
Ovechkin parked himself in front of Sabres goaltender James Reimer and deflected a point shot from defenceman Rasmus Sandin into the net. His 37th of the season came with the Capitals trailing the Sabres 6-3 midway through the third period.

Goal No. 889
Five behind Gretzky, six behind record
Date: March 25, 2025
Ovechkin found open ice, received a pass across the middle and let a wrister rip that hit the back of the net on the stick side of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. The 36th goal of his season was a pivotal one as it tied things up at 2-2 against Winnipeg late in the third and forced overtime. The Capitals did go on to lose but picked up a point thanks to their captain.

Goal No. 888
Six behind Gretzky, seven behind record
Date: March 20, 2025
Ovechkin took a cross-crease pass from linemate Aliaksei Protas, beating the sprawling Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson cleanly. The goal is his 35th of the season, the 15th time he's hit the 35-goal mark in his career.

Goal No. 887
Seven behind Gretzky, eight behind record
Date: March 15, 2025
Ovechkin deflected a shot from teammate Martin Fehervary past Sharks goaltender Georgi Romanov midway through the third period. Romanov is the NHL-record 182nd goalie Ovechkin has scored on.

Goal No. 886
Eight behind Gretzky, nine behind record
Date: March 9, 2025
Ovechkin buried his league-leading eighth empty-net goal against the Kraken to score his 886th career goal. The goal also made Ovechkin just the 11th player to score 1,600 career points.

Goal No. 885
Nine behind Gretzky, 10 behind record
Date: March 5, 2025
Ovechkin potted the power-play marker off an Andrew Mangiapane setup to tie the game and reach the 30-goal mark against the New York Rangers.

Goal No. 884
10 behind Gretzky, 11 behind record
Date: March 1, 2025
Ovechkin picked up a loose puck in the slot after teammate Matt Roy lost it and fired a shot past fellow countryman Andrei Vasilevskiy to score his 31st goal.

Goal No. 883
11 behind Gretzky, 12 behind record
Date: Feb. 25, 2025
Ovechkin took a pass from John Carlson, snapped it quickly on goal from the left faceoff dot and beat Flames goaltender Dan Vladar short side for his 30th of the season.

Goal No. 882
12 behind Gretzky, 13 behind record
Date: Feb. 23, 2025
Ovechkin completed the hat trick with an empty net goal, with the Oilers pulling Pickard late in the third period. Ovechkin didn't waste time collecting the puck in his own zone and shooting down the ice into the empty cage.

Goal No. 881
13 behind Gretzky, 14 behind record
Date: Feb. 23, 2025
With a trademark power-play goal, Ovechkin took the pass from Jakob Chychrun at his usual spot at the left faceoff circle and put it past Pickard.

Goal No. 880
14 behind Gretzky, 15 behind record
Date: Feb. 23, 2025
Ovechkin scored his first of the game against Calvin Pickard, beating the Oilers goaltender with a wrist shot after receiving a pass from Dylan Strome in the upper slot for his 27th goal of the season.