Alex Ovechkin's 895th Goal Leads to Another Major Record Being Broken for the NHL and Gary Bettman
Photo credit: WTOP
TNT broke a viewership record during the game when Alex Ovechkin broke the all-time goals record that was held by Wayne Gretzky, another great accomplishment.
TNT Sports said Tuesday that Alex Ovechkin's record-setting night versus the New York Islanders drew huge national ratings.
An impressive 1.3 million viewers tuned in as Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, officially passing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.
IT'S A RECORD BREAKER
1.3 million viewers were tuned in to TNT/truTV on Sunday for Alex Ovechkin's historic moment.
The full game averaged 905k viewers, the most watched non-Winter Classic regular season game on TNT Sports networks all time.
1.3 million viewers were tuned in to TNT/truTV on Sunday for Alex Ovechkin's historic moment.
The full game averaged 905k viewers, the most watched non-Winter Classic regular season game on TNT Sports networks all time.
The game averaged 905,000 viewers, the most-watched regular-season NHL game (not counting Winter Classics) in TNT Sports history.
In addition to national broadcasts, Washington, D.C., area viewers could also witness the historic moment on Monumental Sports Network.
The ceremony lasted longer than expected, a whopping 22 minutes
The game itself was delayed for 22 minutes during the second period to honor Ovechkin with an on-ice ceremony. Gretzky and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman joined in the celebration, congratulating the new goal-scoring king.
Despite all the fanfare of Ovi breaking the record, the rest of the game lacked energy. The Islanders, defensive and focused, coasted to a 4-1 win while keeping the Capitals relatively quiet offensively.
This broadcast was a challenger to TNT's previous ratings high point, the Blackhawks-Blues 2025 Winter Classic that averaged 920,000 and peaked at 1.2 million.
The latter nearly equaled this accomplishment by showing just how big of an attraction Capitals captain Ovechkin is.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 8 | 179 ANSWERS Alex Ovechkin's 895th Goal Leads to Another Major Record Being Broken for the NHL and Gary Bettman Were you watching the moment Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's goal record? | ||
| Yes | 76 | 42.5 % |
| No | 103 | 57.5 % |
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