Connor McDavid Sends Alex Ovechkin Strong Message After Setting All-Time Goals Record

Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record ended Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena, where the Washington Capitals captain scored the 895th goal of his career.

The moment broke a mark once thought untouchable, and the celebration included messages from some of the biggest names in sports. One of those missing, however, was Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.

The Oilers superstar righted that wrong on Monday, with the franchise sharing a short clip of McDavid congratulating Ovechkin on his feat.

“Congrats, Ovi,” McDavid said. “What an amazing accomplishment. Honestly, the greatest goal scorer of all time. Such an amazing feat. It’s been so fun to watch you chase this down. You know, what can you really say? Honestly, it’s been amazing.

”Happy for you, happy for your family. All the best. Enjoy.”

Ovechkin scored the record-setting goal 7:26 into the second period on a power play, firing a one-timer past fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin from his signature spot in the left circle.

“It was amazing,” Sorokin said. “A big moment for all the hockey world. Congrats to Ovi and his family. He’s a big player. It’s unbelievable watching it.”

It was Ovechkin’s 42nd goal of the season and came in his 1,487th game—the same number of games Gretzky ended up playing throughout his career before retiring in 1999.

The moment capped off a 20-year journey that began in 2005 when Ovechkin entered the league with a 52-goal rookie campaign after the Capitals drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft.

Since then, Ovechkin has led the NHL in goals nine times and helped the Capitals to a Stanley Cup victory in 2018.

McDavid, meanwhile, has 361 goals in 708 games through Sunday and remains a distant contender to one day, if ever, challenge the mark.