Ovechkin closed the gap on Gretzky's record to score his 877th puck

Russian forward "Washington" Alexander Ovechkin on February 2 scored a puck "Winnipeg" in a home match of the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), reducing the gap from Canadian Wayne Gretzky to 17 goals.

The match was held in Washington and ended with a 5-4 overtime victory for the guests. The winners scored on forwards Cole Perfetti, Alex Aifallo, and defensemen Josh Morrissey and Dylan Samberg. Russian forward Vladislav Namestnikov gave two goal assists. In addition to Ovechkin, Washington's forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Taylor Reddish and Tom Wilson scored.

Ovechkin accounted for 38 points on the season. Ovechkin brought the number of goals in the regular NHL championships to 877, which makes him second in this indicator, behind only Canadian forward Wayne Gretzky, who has 894 scored pucks.

"Washington" leads the Metropolitan Division with 75 points. "Winnipeg" is in first place in the Central Division and the overall championship table with 77 points.

"Washington" on the night of February 5 will play with "Florida", and "Winnipeg" on the same day will take "Carolina".

Racing Series: How Russian hockey players perform in the NHL

Ovechkin flies for the record, Michkov rushes for the prize

Earlier, on January 28, the NHL called the match on April 15, 2025, the game in which the Russian forward and captain of the club "Washington Capitals" Alexander Ovechkin will be able to break Wayne Gretzky's sniper record for goals within the NHL.