On January 16th, 2006, Alex Ovechkin scored what is considered to arguably be the greatest goal in NHL history.
While falling and twirling around on his back, Ovi sent a “simply sensational” shot past Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Brian Boucher’s outstretched stick.
The goal happened in front of Wayne Gretzky, who was the Coyotes coach at the time. Eighteen years later, Ovechkin is now just 64 goals away from Gretzky’s all-time goals record.
The NHL celebrated the Goaliversary on Tuesday by posting the footage on their X account.
Today is the anniversary of Alex Ovechkin's iconic goal. 🫨
📅: January 16, 2006 pic.twitter.com/Csk1IGw4Kp
— NHL (@NHL) January 16, 2024
Ovechkin scored The Goal during his rookie season in the NHL. At the time, it was Ovechkin’s 32nd goal of his career. Since then, he’s scored 798 more times.
On the 10-year anniversary of ‘The Goal,’ Monumental Network put together a video, where players and media who witnessed the feat recounted what the moment was like.
“I didn’t see the puck go in because I was on my back,” Ovechkin told The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan back in 2016. “I had to look if I didn’t hit the boards or get injured, so I look up and I see [Boyd Gordon] and [Brendan Witt] came to me and start like, celebrate, so I have to go and see and look what happened, how I did it.
“For that moment, it was just an unbelievable time. My dream was come true. I was playing in the NHL, I did kind of a special goal, and Gretzky was there as well.”
Gretzky wasn’t the only memorable name in attendance for ‘The Goal.’ An eight-year-old Auston Matthews was at Glendale Arena when Ovechkin netted the historic tally.
The now superstar forward of the Toronto Maple Leafs recounted the day in an interview with Sportsnet during his rookie season.
“I was there, yeah,” Matthews said. “It was unbelievable. That was back when I think Gretzky was coaching. He was just looking up. He couldn’t believe it. I think everybody up in the stands – nobody really cheered – they really couldn’t get their heads wrapped around what just happened.”
Brian Boucher, the goalie Ovi scored on, has celebrated the anniversary of The Goal in the past. The Goal made Boucher the 21st goaltender Ovechkin scored on in his career to that point.
Happy anniversary @ovi8 https://t.co/WN9UtkfQiZ
— Brian Boucher (@BrianBoucher33) January 16, 2020
Happy Goaliversary, Ovi!
This article has been updated and republished from our archive.
