Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 484th NHL goal to surpass Sergei Fedorov for the Russian with the most career goals in the league.
Ovechkin’s 484th came in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.
“I would like to congratulate Alex on this achievement,” said Fedorov, who scored 483 goals in 1,248 NHL games. “What he has accomplished thus far in his career has been nothing short of remarkable.
“I had a great opportunity to play with Alex in Washington and have seen first-hand the respect, passion and enthusiasm he has not only for the game of hockey but for his country as well,” Fedorov added in a statement released by the Capitals.
Ovechkin, 30, was selected first overall in the 2004 NHL draft by the Capitals. He has 484 goals and 428 assists in 777 career NHL games, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach 900 career points on October 20 at Calgary.
“Alex has meant a great deal to our organization and our community and it has been a pleasure to watch as he continues to rewrite the record books,” said Capitals president Dick Patrick. “Alex is a proud Russian and this record means a great deal to him, especially knowing the respect and admiration he has for Sergei.”
Ovechkin’s milestone goal tied the score at 2-2.
Stars center Jason Spezza scored the go-ahead goal with 8:50 left to play.
Centers Tyler Seguin and Cody Eakin also scored for Dallas, who have won four straight.
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist for Washington.
Since entering the NHL at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals, points (912), power-play goals (177), power-play points (357) and game-winning goals (81).
He is the only player in the NHL to score 30 or more goals in each season since 2005-06 and his career average of 0.624 goals per game is fourth in NHL history.
He had gone four games without a goal since tying Fedorov with number 483 on November 7 against Toronto.