Forward passes Gretzky for all-time goals record; Washington would have clinched Metropolitan with win
Capitals at Islanders | Recap
By Stefen Rosner
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
ELMONT, N.Y. -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th goal to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history in the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Sunday.
The 39-year-old forward set the record at 7:26 of the second period. With Washington on a power play, Ovechkin took a pass from Tom Wilson and sent a wrist shot past Ilya Sorokin blocker side from the top of the left face-off circle to cut New York’s lead to 2-1.
"What a day, huh?” Ovechkin said during his on-ice ceremony. “Like I always said, all the time, it's a team sport and without my boys -- the whole organization, the fans, the trainers, coaches -- I would never be standing here, and obviously I would never pass the 'Great One.' So, fellas, thank you very much.”
Ovechkin rips PPG to surpass Gretzky as NHL's all-time leading goal scorer
Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals (49-19-9), who would have clinched the Metropolitan Division with a victory. They remained 11 points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I’m frustrated about how the game went after [Ovechkin’s goal], but it's not an easy scenario that our players have just gone through in the last 72 hours, having gone through the home game (5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday), flying here yesterday, the earlier start here,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I'm not taking anything away from the New York Islanders because the game was at 12:30 and it started at 12:30 for them as well. But it's a difficult stretch for us.
“I thought that goal would have snowballed and was hoping it would create some momentum for our group, but that didn't happen.”
Marc Gatcomb scored twice, and Sorokin made 28 saves for the Islanders (34-32-10), who have won consecutive games for the first time since March 18 and 20. They remained seven points back in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference behind the Montreal Canadiens, who won 2-1 at the Nashville Predators later Sunday.
"It was important for us to find a way to win that game, and that's exactly what we did,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “What I love about our guys is they stay focused. I mean, it was a lot of attention on Ovi on this one, and I thought we stayed focused even after he scored his goal, which is a great moment for hockey.
“Our guys kept the focus, and as soon as the puck dropped [after the ceremony], we were back. It was nice to see our guys coming back and play the same way, but you had to take the moment. It's a great moment and it's great for our game. And I think you need to acknowledge what he's done for hockey.”
WSH@NYI: Ovechkin celebrated on-ice following goal No. 895
Ovechkin nearly passed Gretzky at 2:35 of the first period, but Sorokin was able to make the save on a redirection.
Bo Horvat then gave New York a 1-0 lead at 7:06. After Anders Lee sent his one-timer from inside the right dot wide, Simon Holmstrom corralled the puck behind the net before circling and finding Horvat cutting into the low slot for a five-hole finish.
Gatcomb made it 2-0 at 9:00. After chipping the puck to Kyle MacLean along the left wall in transition, Gatcomb received the puck back in the low slot before he beat Lindgren high glove side.
WSH@NYI: Gatcomb redirects MacLean's shot home in opening period
Sorokin made a blocker save on Ovechkin’s wrist shot from just inside the blue line at 2:36 of the second period before Ovechkin cut it to 2-1 with his record-breaking goal, which was his 42nd of the season.
"To be honest with you, when I was tying the record, I still can't believe it,” Ovechkin said. “It was so emotional, it was such a great night, but this is something crazy. I'm probably going to need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what it means to be No. 1.
“But I can say I'm very proud. I'm really proud for myself. I'm really proud for my family, for all my teammates that help me to reach that milestone and for all my coaches. It's huge. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable moment and I'm happy."
Gatcomb, a rookie, scored his second of the game just three minutes later at 10:26 to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead. Matt Martin fed him from behind the net for a one-timer from the low slot.
The 25-year-old undrafted rookie has eight goals in 33 games.
"You always dream of playing in the NHL, and to score two goals tonight and help contribute to a win, and then to see greatness right in front of me, it was pretty cool,” Gatcomb said.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored at 4:20 of the third period, poking a loose puck past Lindgren at the blocker-side post for the 4-1 final.
“It's just an honor to be living through this and to see [what Ovechkin has accomplished],” Wilson said. “You know,10-year-old me or 10-year-old any of us, to be in a room with Wayne and Ovechkin during this moment is so special.
“He's taken us on an amazing journey, and it'll be the honor of my career to play with him, learn so much from him, win with him and watch him score this goal. There's really no words to describe it.”
NOTES: Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1,487 NHL regular-season games with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers before retiring in 1999. He scored his 894th and final goal playing for the Rangers against the Islanders on March 29, 1999. … Ovechkin also owns the NHL records for power-play goals (325), overtime goals (27) and game-winning goals (136), which he set Friday with his 894th goal. … It was Gatcomb’s first multigoal game in the NHL.
