[hockeyguys]

NEW YORK — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 on Sunday, passing Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader.

Ovechkin, on a pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson, netted the record breaker in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders with a power-play goal past fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin with 12:34 left in the second period of Sunday’s game — the 1,487th game of his career, the same as Gretzky’s career total.

“This is something crazy,” Ovechkin said after the game. “I’m probably going to need a couple more days. Maybe a couple weeks to realize what it means to be No. 1.

“All I can say: I’m very proud. I’m very proud for myself. I’m really proud for my family, for all my teammates, that helped me to reach that milestone, and for all my coaches. It’s huge. It’s an unbelievable moment.”

With Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance, the game came to a standstill as players and fans celebrated the historic moment.

“They say that records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure who’s going to get more goals than that,” Gretzky said before shaking Ovechkin’s hand.

When Casey Cizikas took a tripping penalty seven minutes into the second period, the arena echoed with chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” from the considerable number of Capitals fans who attended the Islanders home game.

Ovechkin ripped his shot from the top of the left circle — aka the “Ovi spot” where he has scored the majority of the goals in his career. He turned and did a belly slide over the blue line into the neutral zone as his teammates hopped over the boards in celebration.

It was his 42nd goal of the season, which is second only to Gordie Howe (44 in 1968-69) for a player aged 39 or older.

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