Alex Ovechkin’s 895th goal of his career was the only goal scored by the Washington Capitals in their 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders, but it was still a historic finish that now set him apart from the legendary Wayne Gretzky in the all-time scoring list of the NHL. Ovechkin now stands alone at the top of the goal list of the NHL, and he is still expected to add more to that tally even with the season winding down.

It was more of a harmless loss for the Capitals – who are still yet to clinch its 50th win of the season, as they remain the first seed of the Eastern Conference and is already ensured of home-ice advantage for the rest of the postseason. At this point, it cannot be denied that Ovechkin has been a great boost for the team, and there are high hopes that he can carry it to the postseason run as well.

At the age of 39, Ovechkin has now become the sole leader in scoring in the NHL. It took him quite a long time – possibly his whole career, to surpass the legendary Wayne Gretzky. It has been a promising campaign for the veteran star, and it is also expected that he would be gunning for more goals as the Capitals also seek to cruise for another championship now more than ever.

A Historic Night for Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin entered the second period with the hopes of breaking the scoring drought for the Capitals in this game against the Islanders. The forward scored the record-setting goal at 7:26 of the second period on a power play as he raced off a pass from Tom Wilson before pulling up a wrist shot over Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin on the blocker side from the top of the left face-off circle.

Of course, the Capitals did not score any single goal after that, but it was indeed a historic night for the star as he has finally emerged as the leading scorer in the history of the NHL. Ovechkin nearly had a chance to pass Gretzky at 2:35 of the first period, but Sorokin pulled off a great save to redirect the puck.

"What a day, huh?” Ovechkin said during his on-ice ceremony. “Like I always said, all the time, it's a team sport and without my boys - the whole organization, the fans, the trainers, coaches - I would never be standing here, and obviously I would never pass the 'Great One.' So, fellas, thank you very much.”

Shifting Focus and Priorities

After that goal by Ovechkin, nothing good followed. The Capitals failed to score and were routed all the way to the finish. Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for Washington, who would have clinched the Metropolitan Division for good with a win. Still, the team is way ahead of the pack and is 11 points ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes.

“I’m frustrated about how the game went after Ovechkin’s goal, but it's not an easy scenario that our players have just gone through in the last 72 hours, having gone through the home game, flying here yesterday, the earlier start here,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I'm not taking anything away from the New York Islanders because the game was at 12:30 and it started at 12:30 for them as well. But it's a difficult stretch for us. I thought that goal would have snowballed and was hoping it would create some momentum for our group, but that didn't happen.”

Now more than ever, the focus now shifts for the team in preparation for the playoff campaign, where the Capitals are one of the heavy favorites to win it all and close out a promising campaign too. With Ovechkin’s goal chase off the table, getting healthy and locked in for the playoffs is the main priority.