Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky are tied at 894 goals. Ovechkin can break the record Sunday

Former NHL participant Wayne Gretzky left shaking hands with Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin right during a press conference after an NHL hockey meeting in which Ovechkin tied Gretzky's NHL career goals record of th goals Friday April in Washington AP Photo Mark Schiefelbein AP Mark Schiefelbein Former NHL performer Wayne Gretzky left shaking hands with Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin right during a press conference after an NHL hockey contest in which Ovechkin tied Gretzky's NHL career goals record of th goals Friday April in Washington AP Photo Mark Schiefelbein AP Mark Schiefelbein WASHINGTON AP Alex Ovechkin cracked a Bud Light and casually took a sip as nearby fans chanted Ovi Ovi He was soon joined by Wayne Gretzky to put the two greatest goal-scorers in NHL history side by side At this moment they are tied at goals apiece after Ovechkin scored twice Friday night to match Gretzky s total that plenty of thought no one would ever approach When Ovechkin was requested his feeling about current the record the Great One had a great retort Well hold on a second he hasn t done it yet Gretzky declared Can you give me more hours Gretzky gets at least that Ovechkin s next chance to pass Gretzky comes Sunday in a matinee at the New York Islanders All eyes will be on the -year-old Russian superstar who soaked in the moment of celebrating No in front of Washington Capitals fans who have cheered him on for his two decades in the league and with Gretzky his mother wife and children in attendance As reflective as Ovechkin was about getting there he instantly went back to his standard answer when questioned about when he might break the record It s competition by encounter it s shift by shift Ovechkin disclosed You never know what s gonna happen We just gonna to continue to enjoy it and continue to do our best because we still have six games left before playoffs and our mind right now is get ready for the playoffs and play the right way in the playoffs The playoffs are six games away but the Capitals first want to make sure Ovechkin gets the record all to himself There s a reason we try to get it to him The guy s got goals reported center Dylan Strome who set up Ovechkin s rd goal four minutes into the meeting against Chicago It s incredible If Ovechkin is unable to amount Sunday at the Islanders the Capitals next play back at home Thursday night against division-rival Carolina But everyone around the organization would like to get this over with as soon as realizable something Gretzky knows from his own pursuit of Gordie Howe s then-record of in the spring of People don t realize this because I went through what Alex is going through it s hard on your teammates too Gretzky stated It s joyful and it s exciting but they feel the pressure and the stress and they have to answer all the questions also After Ovechkin tied Gretzky they were more than happy to answer the questions They could feel the anticipation building toward Ovechkin the playoff MVP in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship doing something else special I think the last scant games you could sense it a little bit but obviously on home ice within something extremely doable for the guy it felt different the whole night declared longtime teammate John Carlson who passed the puck to Ovechkin for No From warmups from the drop of the puck certain guys are larger than life in that regard and it just seems like only a sparse people are capable of it It seemed inevitable Inevitable until he breaks it as well As Gretzky got up to leave the postgame festivities he hugged Ovechkin and waved and reported See you guys on Sunday AP NHL https apnews com hub nhl Source