Sidney Crosby's 'Exciting' Take on Historic Alex Ovechkin Record Goal

Ovechkin scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks, tying Gretzky’s mark with a third-period power-play goal. He now sits at 894 goals in 1,486 games—one fewer than Gretzky needed—and will have his first shot at No. 895 on Sunday against the New York Islanders.

“What he’s done this year is pretty incredible,” Crosby said. “At this point, it’s just a matter of time.”

The historic moment wasn’t lost on Crosby, whose rivalry with Ovechkin has defined an era in NHL history. Both debuted in 2005 and have played exclusively for one franchise.

With an empty-net opportunity late in the third period, the stage was set, but Ovechkin admitted to having rejected to break the record in such an advantageous situation.

“I asked him about 15 times,” Capitals center Dylan Strome revealed after the game. “I didn’t want to be the guy to shoot it in the empty net if he wanted the empty-netter.”

Asked if he’ll try to break the record in New York or wait for the Capitals' next home game, Ovechkin kept it simple.

"Like I said, it’s game by game — shift by shift," Ovechkin said. "You never know what’s going to happen."

Strome, echoing Crosby's words, said he’s optimistic the record will fall soon.

“It wasn’t meant to be tonight for the record-breaker, but we’ve got six more games to go,” Strome said. “So I’m pretty confident we’re going to find it in those six games.”