Wayne Greztky goal #802: (image credit: x/br_openice)

On March 23, 1994, Wayne Gretzky scored his 802nd career goal to pass Gordie Howe as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.

The record-breaking tally came against the Vancouver Canucks, tying the game in the second period on the power play off a feed from Marty McSorley. The Kings lost 6-3 but that didn’t take away from what Gretzky accomplished.

He scored 92 more goals in his NHL career and retired with 894, a number that felt untouchable.

Spittin Chiclets posted a throwback video in celebration of Greztky’s achievement from 31 years ago on X (formerly Twitter).

Gretzky finished his remarkable career with 2,897 points (894 goals and 1,963 assists) in 1,487 games. Nobody else in the history of the NHL has registered 2,000 points, although some believe Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid could get there one day. Jaromir Jagr is the next closest on the point-scoring leaderboard with 1,921 points in 1,733 games played.

Alex Ovechkin needs seven goals to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goal-scoring record

Wayne Gretzky has company atop the record books in Alex Ovechkin.

With 888 career goals, Ovechkin is just six goals behind Greztky and needs seven more to pass him and cement himself as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. A record that was once thought to be unreachable is in sight for Ovechkin who has continued to pile up goals late in his career.

At 39 years old, Ovechkin has shown that age is just a number, racking up 59 points (35 goals and 24 assists) in 54 games this season. With 12 games remaining on Washington’s regular-season schedule, it’s no longer a question of if he will break the record, but when he will do it. Ovechkin has one season remaining after this one on his five-year $47,500,000 contract signed in 2021.

He will continue his pursuit of Gretzky when the Washington Capitals return to action on Tuesday in Winnipeg against the Jets. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Canada Life Centre.