Alex Ovechkin's historic day on Long Island, which once had lots of them
Alex Ovechkin's historic day put Long Island at the center of the hockey universe once again. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It’s been more than four decades since Long Island last found itself as the epicenter of hockey history, churning out Cups and memories at a tiny little rink in Uniondale throughout the early 1980s.
On a drizzly and otherwise snoozy Sunday afternoon here, toward the end of an equally dreary season, that memory-making machinery returned and again kicked into action.
It was a quick visit, in a far spiffier venue than the last time, and it starred an opposing player who wasn’t even born when the Islanders were anywhere near the epicenter of the sport’s universe. But when Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-record 895th goal and belly-flopped into what would be the eastern waters of the Sound on the mid-ice map that serves as the Islanders’ sprawling logo, there was no doubt about where this indelible moment had taken place.
For the briefest of moments, hockey here mattered. Again.
“It’s a great day for the game,” Ovechkin said. “A great day for D.C., a great day for Washington . . . . home in Russia, I know they are celebrating and happy.”
And on Long Island?
It was pretty cool, too.
Ovechkin’s record may be broken someday, but for now, there is only one place where anyone with 895 goals has ever skated. Yup, good ol’ Elmont, New York.
There was a buzz all day long. It had been trembling since Friday night, really, when Ovechkin scored twice to tie Wayne Gretzky’s record and set up the potential to break it in this contest. Sunday, the Islanders said, was the first time their press box had been completely filled since the very first home game at UBS Arena.
Alex Anthony, the longtime public address announcer for the Islanders, said he woke up Sunday morning to several texts already congratulating him for being the one to officially proclaim the record. He replied to them with a reminder that it hadn’t happened yet.
Kenny Albert, calling the game for the national television audience, said he always keeps his eye on the puck when announcing the action but admitted that given these circumstances, he would be sneaking peeks at Ovechkin whenever he was on the ice so he could be prepared for the moment.
There even were special decorations. When Capitals coach Spencer Carbery held his pregame media availability, the Islanders’ staffers had to quickly roll up their team’s backdrop and swap it out for the one that said “The Gr8 Chase” to trumpet the festivities.
All that was left was the goal itself. That came 7:26 into the second period on a power play. Ovechkin took a pass at the top of the circle from Tom Wilson, collected himself as the gasp of anticipation that only hockey can produce gathered in the building, then sniped the puck past Ilya Sorokin.
“The ultimate goal-scorers’ goal for the greatest of all time,” Carbery said.
Ovechkin, sitting postgame in front of a fresh backdrop, this one proclaiming his accomplishment with a big number “895” (what they would have done if he had scored twice, or even three times, will remain a mystery), said it will take him some time to digest the recent events.
It all came together much more quickly than anyone expected, of course, not just because he now has 42 goals this season but because he has scored six in the last five games. It was a sprint to the ribbon for him the way Secretariat once made his dash to history just a few hundred yards away.
“This is something crazy,” he said. “I’m going to need a few days or weeks to recognize what it means to be number one.”
What it meant here was more obvious. Ovechkin’s accomplishment easily stands as the most significant sports moment in the short history of UBS Arena. It was a goal that elicited a long standing ovation, not only from those who flooded the building wearing their red Capitals sweaters and overran the stands with “Ovi! Ovi!” chants but from Islanders fans who appreciated the opportunity to glimpse the moment too.
There was a video tribute during the 24-minute mid-game ceremony with comments of congrats from everyone from LeBron James and Derek Jeter to Michael Phelps and Simone Biles. Even actor Danny DeVito somehow managed to say a few words.
Then The Great One, the one whose goal-scoring record had just been eclipsed but who easily retains his title in regard to overall play, stepped onto the ice. Patting a No. 9 pin on his lapel in honor of Gordie Howe, the man he surpassed three decades ago as the league’s top goal-scorer and the only other person to reach 800, Gretzky wanted to be the first to offer his hand to Ovechkin. Technically, he wasn’t — by that point Ovechkin had hugged just about everyone on both teams — but it was a symbolic moment.
Interestingly enough, it was Gretzky who directly rekindled memories of those Islanders glory days more than Ovechkin did with his play on Sunday. Speaking to the crowd, he said he was glad this game wasn’t played at Nassau Coliseum because of all the times he had lost there (he never got the chance to play at UBS). He even name-dropped Bill Torrey in his speech before ever mentioning Ovechkin.
Who saw that coming?
Then, finally, he handed the microphone to the man of the hour. The man of history’s hour.
“What a day, huh?” Ovechkin said.
It was.
There used to be a lot of them around these parts.
Maybe one day soon there can be again.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
