Ovechkin on passing Gordie Howe: 'It's a miracle.'

It clearly wasn't the way that he wanted it to go down, but in the end Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin would surpass one of his idols on Friday night when he recorded the 802nd goal of his National Hockey League career.

While it may not have been a clear shot, Ovechkin had the chance to shoot on an empty net for #802 but instead he chose to make a quick pass to Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov however was unwilling to shoot the puck on net and instead dropped it back to Ovechkin who would eventually surpass Howe on an empty net goal.

While everything about Ovechkin's body language tells you that it wasn't the way he wanted to surpass Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe, who recorded 801 goals during his incredible NHL career, he acknowledged what an incredible moment it was for him after the game.

“You never thought it’s going to happen when you came into the league, you’re going to beat any Gordie Howe record or Wayne Gretzky record or any record,” said Ovechkin as per The Athletic. “You felt like, OK, maybe you’re going to play in the NHL, you’re going to be good and you’re going to try to do your best. But the whole situation happening right now, it’s a miracle.”

Ovechkin of course still has quite the mountain to climb if he wants to claim the NHL's all-time goal scoring record which is currently held by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky. Over the course of his 1487 game career, Gretzky would record an incredible 894 goals which means that Ovechkin will need 92 more goals just to tie that record, and 93 to claim it all for himself.

Considering the fact that at 37 years old Ovechkin already has 22 goals in just 36 games this season, it looks like there is a realistic chance he could break a record that was once believed to be unassailable.