Hockey fans from around the world have been tracking every step of Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s chase of the all-time goals scored record for the past year. Earlier today, TNT Sports announced that the record-breaking game for Ovechkin—as the Capitals lost to the New York Islanders 4-1 on Sunday—drew the largest audience for a non-Winter Classic regular season game on the network.
In fact, the broadcast on TNT and truTV averaged 905,000 viewers for the game as Ovechkin broke the record, with 1.3 million viewers tuned in for the historic moment itself.
Notably, Alex Ovechkin’s goal number 895 passed “The Great One” in the 1,497th career game of his career, which is the total amount of games Gretzky played in his Hall of Fame career.
The historical moment happened as Ovechkin ripped his shot from the top of the left circle, where he has scored a large majority of the goals in his career. After scoring the goal, the future Hall of Famer then turned and did a belly slide over the blue line into the neutral zone as his teammates mobbed him in celebration following the accomplishment.
Moreover, for Ovechkin, it was his 42nd goal of the season, which is second only to Gordie Howe (44 in 1968-69) for a player aged 39 or older.
Following the moment, the Islanders left their bench to shake the hand of Ovechkin, while the Capitals wore designed hats for the occasion. Additionally, the league stopped the game for a center ice ceremony that featured Ovechkin, his family, teammates, and several NHL legends such as Jaromir Jagr, Brett Hull, and Phil Esposito.
Furthermore, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Gretzky and his wife Janet, and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis also took part in the on-ice celebration.
Currently, Warner Bros. Discovery is in the midst of a seven-year media rights contract with the NHL for a reported $225 million per year. Looking ahead, the TNT Sports division will broadcast the Stanley Cup Final to conclude the 2024-25 season, marking the second time the game will be presented by the media conglomerate.
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