LOVERRO: Greatness has always been part of Ovechkin’s game

OPINION:

Alex Ovechkin has been a power player since the day he made his spectacular NHL debut with the Washington Capitals nearly 20 years ago with goals No. 1 and No. 2.

On Sunday, No. 895 came, appropriately, on a power play, as the Russian superstar broke Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring mark to become the greatest goal-scorer in league history.

It was vintage Ovechkin, taking a pass from Tom Wilson and ripping a wrist shot from the left face-off circle past New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin at 7:26 of the second period.

As the light lit up, the 39-year-old Ovechkin, who missed 16 games this season with a broken leg, turned and belly-flopped on the ice in celebration, the way he has made a splash in this sport ever since he arrived as a heralded 20-year-old from Russia in 2005 following his No. 1 selection by the Washington Capitals the year before in the draft.

“Congratulations,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a ceremony on the ice as play stopped for the historic moment. “Greatest is now part of your name.”

That was just a formality. Greatness has always been part of Alex Ovechkin’s name. He has been an unstoppable goal-scoring machine throughout his career. No one might have predicted that Ovechkin would break Gretzky’s 894 goal record, perhaps. But anyone who saw Ovechkin play over his 20-year career had no doubt that greatness was always part of his name.

Now it’s officially in the record books.

The man Ovechkin passed, Gretzky, celebrated the moment along with Capitals fans who made the trip to Elmont, New York, and with hockey fans everywhere watching the broadcast who likely felt fortunate they were able to witness history.

“Eight-ninety-five is pretty special,” Gretzky said. “They say records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure who is going to get more goals than that.”

Gretzky set the record 31 years ago when he passed Gordie Howe. Now, Ovechkin set the new mark 31 years later. At a time when goal-scoring in the NHL is not as prolific as it was when those two Hall of Famers played, the record may last a lot longer than 31 years this time.

“It was a record that nobody thought would ever be broken, but you did it,’ Bettman said.

It was a where-were-you-when-you-saw type of moment for Washington sports fans who have enjoyed the pleasure of watching the greatest athlete of the last 80 years in the history of this town.

With his teammates behind him at center ice, Ovechkin took the microphone and succinctly put the moment in perspective.

“What a day, huh,” he declared.

Yes, indeed, what a day. 

Ovechkin embraced the moment, sharing it with his family, hugging his two young sons, and watched the video screen as it played a recorded message from his mother, wiping the tears from his eyes. He raised his fist and acknowledged teammates and former teammates who were on hand for the moment.

“We did it, boys,” Ovechkin said. “We did it.”

There have been many teammates along the way — some great, others a passing skate on the ice — but all will now be able to say they played with the greatest goal-scorer the NHL has ever seen.

Now the party shifts to Capital One Arena on Thursday night, the next game for the Capitals. If it is anything like it was Friday night, when Ovechkin scored two goals to tie Gretzky at 894, owner Ted Leonsis may not have to spend millions to renovate the arena. Capitals fans may do it for him. The full house nearly took the roof off when they celebrated the tying goal.

There was still a game to play Sunday, one Washington lost 4-1, with Ovechkin’s goal the lone score for the Capitals. There is still a season to finish — five games left, including Thursday night at home against the Hurricanes, who defeated the Capitals 5-1 in a physical battle Wednesday in Raleigh. There are still preparations to be made for yet another Stanley Cup playoff for Ovechkin and his teammates, a note that should not be forgotten. The Capitals, with a 49-19-9 record, are among the top teams in the league and are expected to compete for the Cup.

Ovechkin’s moment might have been diminished if viewed through the long lens if his team had not won the Stanley Cup in 2018. 

Before that, his individual accomplishments — a three-time Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player, a nine-time winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the league’s top goal scorer, a three-time winner of the Ted Lindsay Award for the most outstanding player, among other honors — always had the asterisk of the failure to win the Stanley Cup, despite nine postseason appearances before 2018. That championship put Sunday’s record-breaking performance on solid ground. 

Another Stanley Cup, though, in the year where Ovechkin made history? Well, that’s the stuff that dreams are made of — as if the career of Ovechkin weren’t already a fantasy turned reality.

• Catch Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.