Ovechkin's fans talked about the expectations before the Washington-Carolina match

Fans of the Russian forward of the Washington Capitals hockey club Alexander Ovechkin shared their expectations of the game before his match against the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.

There is a huge queue for several blocks near the Capital One Arena stadium, where the match will be held. Many came in red T-shirts with a figure eight on their backs and posters in their hands, said Izvestia correspondent Nikolai Masters.

"There are several thousand people here now. <...> You can't get through anywhere, Alexander Ovechkin's fans are everywhere," he noted.

One of the fans who came to the match stressed that the Russian hockey player is "phenomenal." Another fan of the athlete from the Russian Federation drew attention to the fact that, despite his age, the athlete looks "very good", given his 20 years of playing experience.

"I often took my young children to Ovechkin's matches to watch him. So watching him all these years has been a real happiness," said one of the fans of the Russian hockey player, Joanna.

In addition, Igor Rabiner, a correspondent for Sport-Express, reported that all visitors to the arena where the match will take place will be given towels with a photo of Ovechkin's fall immediately after he scored his record goal.

Before the match, Ovechkin attended a solemn ceremony in honor of the record 895th goal. At the event, he will appear in a suit, the inside of which consists of the names of all the NHL teams in which the hockey player scored goals. Immediately after the ceremony, the striker went to the game.

"It felt like the whole country was worried and rooting for me"

Alexander Ovechkin — about the end of the great chase, an accidental celebration and numerous congratulations from the stars of world sports

Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL regular season on April 6 in a match against the New York Islanders, breaking Gretzky's record of 894 goals scored.

The Russian hockey player was congratulated on the record by the TV channels of the National Media Group and Sergey Zhukov. The performer dedicated a clip to the hockey player's favorite song from the repertoire of the musical group with a modified text in honor of the record goal to the historical achievement.