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ON THE ICE — It's an adage that's been around forever: Records are made to be broken.

That adage came true Sunday when the Washington Capitals took the ice against the New York Islanders for a game that will go down in sports history.

Why?

With 12:34 left in the second period, Capitals' left winger Alex Ovechkin took a cross-ice pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson and fired his signature laser toward the goal.

When the puck hit the net, Ovechkin became the top goal scorer in NHL history, recording his 895th career goal and breaking a record fellow National Hockey League great Wayne Gretzky held for just over three decades.

The goal was met by raucous cheers from the away crowd and chants of "Ovi, Ovi, Ovi!" ringing throughout the arena — a nod to the greatness of Ovechkin and appreciation for getting to witness a monumental moment in sports history.

"I'm probably gonna need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what does it mean to be No. 1," Ovechkin said after a 4-1 loss that was still very much cause for celebration from the Capitals. "I'm really proud for myself. I'm really proud for my family, for all my teammates that help me to reach that milestone and for all my coaches. It's huge. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable moment and I'm happy."

On Gretzky's end, he took his record being broken with grace, shaking Ovechkin's hand, and congratulating the "Great 8" and his family for the accomplishment.

"They say records are made to be broken, but I'm not sure who's going to get more goals than that," Gretzky said.

The full celebration ceremony can be watched here.