Ovechkin was photographed with Gretzky's sweater at the Edmonton museum before the game

Russian forward and captain of the Washington Capitals hockey club Alexander Ovechkin visited the Edmonton Oilers museum and was photographed with the stick, jersey and crags of Canadian Wayne Gretzky.

"While in Edmonton during the historic chase, Alexander Ovechkin pays tribute to the great one," reads the club's X social media page (formerly Twitter), which also posted two photos on Jan. 21.

The Edmonton team will face Washington on the night of January 22 at 5:00 Moscow time. Ovechkin is trying to break the record of Gretzky, who played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1978 to 1988.

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Earlier, on January 17, Ovechkin cut Gretzky's lead to 20 goals by scoring the puck in overtime of the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season game against the Ottawa Senators. The puck was the only one of the game and helped Washington win the game.