Justin Bieber stunned after Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's historic record with 895th career goal

Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time goals leader by scoring his 895th career goal on Sunday. He did so during a power play in the second period of a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. The goal came from his usual spot in the left circle. Ovechkin beat Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin with a wrist shot and celebrated by sliding on the ice with a belly flop.

The goal came 21 years after the Capitals had won the draft lottery to pick Ovechkin first overall. He now has 895 goals in 1,487 NHL games, the same number of games Gretzky had played. Ovechkin also has 325 power-play goals, the most in NHL history.

Pop star and Toronto Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber reacted to Ovechkin's achievement in his Instagram stories during and after the game. He congratulated Ovechkin and mentioned Ovechkin’s wife. In one story, Bieber wrote:

“Congrats Alexander Ovechkin just surpassed Gretzky Crazy.”

Alex Ovechkin's wife, Nastasiya Ovechkina, reposted the story and responded:

“Thank you Justin Bieber”

Nastasiya IG (via Instagram/@Nastasiya Ovechkina)

Bieber also posted a photo of the goal moment and wrote:

“Damn, this is crazy.”

He shared videos from the celebration and clips of Gretzky talking about Ovechkin's historic achievement.

Bieber IG (via Instagram/@justinbieber)

Ovechkin's historic goal came 26 seconds into the Capitals’ first power play. Dylan Strome had passed the puck to Tom Wilson, who entered the zone and found Ovechkin, who skated into the shot and scored. The Capitals left the bench to celebrate with Ovechkin, while the Islanders showed respect by clapping and tapping their sticks.

Alex Ovechkin has scored 393 of his goals from the left circle or above it. He has played all 20 NHL seasons with the Washington Capitals. Ovechkin continues to play with the same energy he had as a rookie, having debuted on Oct. 5, 2005, and scoring twice. Now, 39, he has the most goals in NHL history.

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Wayne Gretzky and wife attended Alex Ovechkin's record-breaking game

Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet, attended the game where Alex Ovechkin broke Gretzky's NHL goal-scoring record. Gretzky stood up and watched as Ovechkin scored his 895th goal while Janet covered her face in surprise.

After the goal, Gretzky kept his promise and walked over to shake Ovechkin’s hand at center ice. Ovechkin talked about the special moment.

“This is something crazy,” Ovechkin said (via NHL.com). “I'm probably going to need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what does it mean to be No. 1. But I can say I'm very proud.”

Gretzky stood beside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during a short on-ice ceremony as Alex Ovechkin’s teammates and family joined him on the ice.