How many people are really that excited by Alex Ovechkin making NHL history with his 895th goal that breaks the Great One’s record? The Great One is Wayne Gretzky, probably the best hockey player of all-time some would say. Gretzky became the all-time NHL goals leader back in 1994 when he passed the great Gordie Howe who had 801 NHL goals in his career. Gretzky would hang up the skates lighting the lamp 894 times in his NHL career. The Great One held the record for 31 years and 14 days until Sunday when Alex Ovechkin AKA the Russian Machine made history. He’s also known as the Great 8 or in some circles goes by The Mechanic. Ovechkin hits a laser blast past the New York Islanders goalie for a power play goal and it becomes the record setter. Ovechkin hails from Moscow as Russia is his mother country and has had pictures taken with their dictator Vladimir Putin. The dick head Putin sent out his congratulations to Alex as Russia was successful at least at taking over a record unlike the country of Ukraine. Ovechkin plays for the Washington Capitals which is now Donald Trump country. The Great One had personality as a player your own kid can get behind. While Ovechkin looks like a guy after a hockey game who takes on a job to make a hit on somebody for the KGB. Maybe that’s why they nicknamed him The Mechanic.

It definitely was a surreal moment on Sunday after the goalie, Alex Ovechkin, did his own slip and slide version on the ice. Instead of that yellow plastic sprinkler laid out on the grass for kids to play on during hot summer days. The NHL and the game of hockey have always been a classy sport in sportsmanship. After a playoff series that could go the distance and turn most of your guys black and blue from the grinding punishment by each team, they always shake hands when that playoff round concludes. The Capitals face the Islanders and all the New York players shook Ovechkin’s hand. The New York crowd on hand witnessed NHL history & got to their feet to give the superstar a loud round of applause out of respect for the accomplishment on the ice. Ovechkin scored the goal off his fellow countryman in the Islanders net, Ilya Sorokin, who he joked about in a good way. The assists on the goal came from two of the Great 8’s longtime teammates, Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome. The goal occurred in the 2nd period as the game had a special stoppage as Wayne Gretzky was on hand to congratulate Ovechkin on breaking his record and did so with class. Gretzky remembered Gordie Howe being there at the stadium when he broke his record back in 1994. Ovechkin also mentioned his former teammates. Even the ones who could not play that game due to being injured. He said all the right things and had his family around him celebrating the NHL milestone with him. It’s a record he should be able to hold, like Gretzky did for a long long time.

It took Alex Ovechkin 61 games as he scored his 42nd goal of the season to break the Great One’s record at the age of 39. You have to respect anyone playing a professional sport in their late 30’s and has those kinds of results. It’s a contact sport as well which takes a lot of wear and tear each grinding season you play. He was not like some old veteran past his prime who should have been put out to pasture just hanging on to break some kind of iconic record. Ovechkin will be a for-sure first round ballot Hall of Famer as now he has the record of 895 goals as he dished out 724 career assists for a total of 1,619 points. He will get past 900 goals but 1,000 may be out of his reach at this age. He has played 20 seasons in the NHL all with the Capitals which is unheard of in sports playing your entire career with the same team. Even Wayne Gretzky played with more than one team as he played for the Edmonton Oilers and LA Kings. It was great for Capital fans seeing their guy break that NHL record wearing the Washington sweater. Ovechkin showed he was a class act guy not wanting to break this special milestone with a empty net shot as he had the other night before the Sunday game versus the Islanders. Now the Capitals as a team have gotten past this hurdle of this special record their teammate broke. They can gear up for the NHL post-season. As a team, the Capitals have played well all season as they are in first place in the Metropolitan division with a 49-19-9 record. Ovechkin helped the Capitals win their first and only Stanley Cup a few years back. This Capitals team has a great shot at winning it all this season. The Great One won a total of 4 cups in his legendary career. When you compare the basketball careers of Michael Jordan and Lebron James, what’s the best way to win that argument? Jordan won six titles and never lost in a championship game. King James could have all the stats but Jordan is the GOAT in the NBA.

When we think of Russia as a country, their land grab in Ukraine is a conflict that has gone on long enough. This war has affected their athletes as the Russian country has been banned from the Olympics and many international sports competitions around the globe. During the early 1980’s, we thought their Olympic hockey team was invincible.

When that underdog hockey team, the U.S.A, pulled off the miracle win against that Red Army Russian team in those 1980 Olympics, it was special. We as a country have been through the Cold War with the USSR. We have had peace with them for many years as well. I don’t want to sound like Rocky Balboa after Rocky 4 in his peace speech after the Italian Stallion defeated the Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Most people in the world have nothing to with the people that work our governments. Even though technically we get a say via a vote. I’m sure Alex Ovechkin puts his pants and skates on one leg at a time. I’m sure most Russian citizens like to sit down at their local pub and have a drink just like the rest of the world. Great food and drink along with some great sports competitions is what the world should be about. How many Capitals fans have waited a long time to see that franchise win a cup? Ovechkin helped deliver that. Maybe you can throw him a new nickname like “The Capital Machine.” Right now he wears number 8 and the Great 8 seems to be the perfect name for a guy that just broke a NHL record that is one of the hardest to break in sports. It’s a great moment for whichever race, color, creed, country etc etc. I saw this record broken twice in my lifetime and many may never see this again for very long time. Talking about a different generation a long time from now. You have to have longevity and prepare your body & mindset to stand the grueling game for 20 seasons or more, along with having the talent to do that. Impressive!!