Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin’s former teammate makes his feelings known about Capitals star's pursuit of NHL goal record

Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record. Ovechkin has scored 872 goals in 1,451 games. He is just 23 goals away from breaking Gretzky's tally of 894 goals in 1,487 games.

Mike Knuble, a former NHL player, was a teammate of both players. He played with Gretzky during his last season in 1998-99 with the New York Rangers. Later, Knuble played with Alex Ovechkin from 2009 to 2012 with the Washington Capitals.

In an article by ESPN on Thursday, Knuble shared his thoughts on Ovi's hunt for The Great One's all-time mark.

"The fact that Ovi is nipping at Gretzky's heels is just crazy," Knuble said.

Knuble finds it surprising that he is the only player to have shared the ice with both of these legends.

"I just felt so fortunate to play with them. They're both such superstars," Knuble shared about playing with Ovechkin and Gretzky.

Knuble remembers Gretzky as a quiet leader. He also scored two goals assisted by Gretzky, which were some of Gretzky’s last points in the league.

When Knuble joined the Capitals in 2009, Alex Ovechkin was already a superstar. Knuble was impressed by Ovechkin’s powerful style. He worked hard to support Ovechkin, assisting on 14 of his goals.

“Wayne revamped the game in his way. And then Ovi revamped it again with his way -- a little more flash, a little more flare. We all copied Wayne and then kids today copied Ovi." Knuble said about Ovechkin’s style.

As Alex Ovechkin continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record, it is becoming a major moment in NHL history.

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Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over Canucks on Wednesday

The Washington Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin remained without a point with three shots on goal in 17:55 minutes of ice time.

Ovechkin has now gone goalless in back-to-back games. It's only the third time this season that Ovi has gone two or more games without a goal.

But his Caps teammates picked up the slack. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored both goals for Washington. He netted the winner with 41 seconds left in overtime. Aliaksei Protas set up the play by circling behind the net and passing to Dubois in the slot.

Dubois also scored late in the first period. He knocked down Matt Roy’s rebound and backhanded the puck past Kevin Lankinen.

Conor Garland scored for the Canucks in the second period on a power play. He fired a rebound into the net from the right side.

Logan Thompson made 30 saves for Washington, including five key stops late in the second period. Kevin Lankinen stopped 16 shots for Vancouver.

Washington extended its point streak to five games and its home point streak to nine. Vancouver is now 1-2-3 in its last six games.