The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders played a game secondary to a record chase on Sunday. Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's goals record with number 895 on the Capitals' first goal of the game. After the goal a lengthy ceremony broke out that featured a speech from the new goal king. Ovechkin hilariously thanked Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin during his remarks.

“Thank you, Ilya Sorokin, for letting me score 895. Love you brother,” Ovechkin said to his fellow Russian. The UBS Arena crowd laughed even though the joke was at their goalie's expense. When the Islanders all shook Ovechkin's hand after the goal, he and Sorokin had a long embrace that showed their relationship.

This was the first goal that Sorokin allowed to Ovechkin in seven games against the Capitals. Coming into the game, Sorokin had a .918 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average in those seven matchups. None of the 17 goals came off of Ovechkin's stick until Sunday.

Sorokin is far from the first and won't be the last goalie to allow a power-play goal to Ovechkin. Casey Cizikas took a tripping penalty that put Washington on the power play and launched Ovechkin into history. His patented slap shot from the left side was the record breaker.

The Capitals now turn their attention to the Stanley Cup

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Through all of the Alex Ovechkin-Wayne Gretzky record talk, the Capitals kept winning. They are barrelling toward an unlikely Metropolitan Division title and are jockeying for the President's Trophy. After barely squeaking into the playoffs last year and getting swept, they have dominated the regular season.

Ovechkin has his Stanley Cup from 2018, but ending this season with another championship would be poetic. Logan Thompson is hurt, which would be a big loss for the Capitals, but they are expected to get him back for the playoffs. Ovechkin's scoring magic does not stop in the postseason, with 72 goals in 151 games.

The most likely first-round opponent for the Capitals is the Montreal Canadiens. They are back in the postseason conversation after a long rebuild had them in the basement for a half-decade. One of Washington's worst playoff losses came at the hands of the eighth-seeded Habs in 2010. They are hoping not to have a repeat of that performance this year.

The Capitals' next game is on Thursday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. Fans should expect a big celebration for The Great 8 before that game.