Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record became the talk of the league a time of the season usually reserved only for playoff races.

When the Russian Machine logged goal No. 895, it marked the culmination of a 20-year mission to catch Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky, back then at least, was more than a hockey player to Canadians. He was homegrown royalty, a player of such quality, of such rare possibility, that he transcended the game we’ve always used to define ourselves.

The Athletic has live coverage of Alex Ovechkin’s journey to break Wayne Gretzky’s career goal record. WASHINGTON — Sometime soon — Sunday maybe, perhaps Thursday — Alex Ovechkin will reach the summit.

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career National Hockey League goal on Sunday to break the hallowed all-time record of Wayne Gretzky that was once considered unbeatable.

Ovechkin’s dominance on the ice from the left circle defines his legacy as the greatest goal scorer in NHL history.

A little more than three decades before Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goals record, the “Great One” had his own chase. Gretzky was in hot pursuit of Gordie Howe's record in the spring of 1994.

While the tally itself was awesome, of course, so was the call from local broadcaster Joe Beninati of Monumental Sports Network. A longtime sportscaster, Joe B delivered an incredible call of Ovechkin's record-breaking goal.