Pat Maroon on witnessing Alex Ovechkin’s 893rd career goal from the ice: ‘It was a moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my life’

Most opposing NHL players would prefer not being scored on by Alex Ovechkin, especially when he makes history. Going into the Washington Capitals’ April 4th tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks, with Ovechkin just two goals short of tying Wayne Gretzky’s record, Pat Maroon was committed to playing spoiler on the Russian star’s potential big night.

“We got a lot of young guys in here that get to play in front of Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best player in the world. And a lot of people with stardom are going to be here to try to witness something special. Our job is to ruin it for them,” Maroon said ahead of the game.

Instead, Maroon failed to defend against goal no. 893 and witnessed no. 894 from the bench at Capital One Arena. He spoke about that experience on NHL Network.

“I was on the ice for (goal 893). It was a moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. There I am in the slot, there’s the puck going bar down,” Maroon said on NHL Tonight, Wednesday. “It’s history. I told myself before the game, ‘Please, just don’t be out there for the [record]-tying goal.’”

Ovechkin tied Gretzky in the third period, a power-play goal to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead with 13:47 remaining, but fortunately for Maroon he was not on the ice when the puck hit the net.

Maroon, who won back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups from 2019 through 2021 with the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning, witnessed Ovechkin’s historic night in April before hanging up his skates at the end of the season and taking up broadcasting.

The NHL Tonight crew also discussed the league’s Quarter Century Team which features Ovechkin as one of the 12 best forwards to play over the last 25 years. Maroon was quick to heap praise on the Russian star’s ability to adapt to the league’s ever-changing style of play and remain dominant on offense.

“Ovi, what can you not say about the guy. He’s an elite goal scorer, he scores from everywhere,” Maroon said. “But I think now with him getting older, he’s finding more ways to score. He’s going to the front of the net, going to the dirty areas. Maybe from recent past he’s maybe shooting off the fly, more odd man rushes but now he’s finding different ways to score goals and I don’t think we give him enough credit, he’s a big, heavy guy but he’s on the forecheck, he’s hitting guys, he’s in your face, he’s doing the things that need to be done on the forecheck and he’s helping his linemates.”

Ovechkin scored 44 goals during the 2024-25 campaign at age 39 and that was even with a 40-day absence for a fractured fibula suffered in November. He’ll turn 40 in September as he enters his 21st NHL season just three tallies shy of becoming the first player in league history to score 900 career goals.