WASHINGTON, November 6. /TASS/. Superstar Russian ice hockey forward Alexander Ovechkin scored a milestone 900th goal for the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, extending his own NHL record for all-time regular season goals.

He will now set his sights on another historic mark owned by Wayne Gretzky - combined regular season and playoff goals.

The Washington Capitals ended a four-game skid last night (0-3-1), beating the St. Louis Blues on home ice 6-1. With the Caps already leading 1-0 in the opening minutes of the second period, Ovechkin, with his back to the net, put a blind backhander past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. His stunt sparked a four-goal second period for the Caps.

"A couple of days ago, somebody asked me, ‘Do you think about it?’" the official website of the Washington Capitals quoted Ovechkin, 40, as saying after the match. "Of course. It’s a huge number, and no one ever did it in NHL history."

"To be the first player to ever do it, it’s a special moment in NHL history. It’s nice that it’s over, and it’s nice to get it at home so the fans can be here. It’s pretty cool," the Russian player noted.

Ovechkin almost lost the chance to get his milestone puck back as Blues’ goaltender Binnington snatched it immediately from the net and sneakily tucked it into his pants. He was caught by a ref, who asked him to return the puck as, according to NHL rules, any milestone puck must be returned to the goal scorer.

In numerous post-match video broadcasts regarding Binnington's attempt to take away the 900th-goal puck, Ovechkin merely laughed it off, adding that "I have no comments on this."

Ovechkin also snapped back at Canada’s Monumental Sports Network’s question about how he felt scoring the goal on a so-called "muffin" by saying: "It was a muffin but I’ll take it."

According to NHL jargon, a "muffin" is a weak shot that should be easily saved by the goaltender, especially a shot that wobbles or floats into the net.

Capitals’ Head Coach Spencer Carbery said commenting on Ovechkin’s game against the Blues: "For him to do it at the clip he's done it at over the last 20 years, I still honestly don't think we truly understand."

"I think it's going to take years of reflecting back to really grasp what's transpired here over the past couple of years. At the age he's at, to still be doing what he's doing," the team’s head coach added.

Although the Russian remains one of the most talked about players in the league, this NHL season has seen him get off to a relatively slow start, as he has netted three goals and dished out five assists in his 13-match appearances.

On April 6, Ovechkin scored his 895th career regular season goal in a game against the New York Islanders, passing legend Wayne Gretzky for most all-time (894 goals).

However, the Russian player now has a chance to beat another of Gretzky’s goal-scoring records - combined goals in the regular season and playoffs. Ovechkin currently boasts 977 goals (both in regulars and playoffs) compared to the Canadian’s all-time record of 1,016 goals (894 in regular season and 122 in playoffs).

Appearing in 61 NHL games last season, Ovechkin scored 42 goals and dished out 27 assists for the Washington Capitals. Despite missing 16 games with a broken leg, he was tied for the third-most goals in the NHL.

Ovechkin is signed with the Washington Capitals through 2026. The Russian forward has played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals, who selected him with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 draft. Ovechkin led the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, the only one of his career, and the only one in the club's history.

In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie," as he is called by his fans, won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships to go along with his two silver and four bronze medals at the world championships.

Ovechkin has won a slew of NHL awards in his career, including the Calder Memorial Trophy (2006), Art Ross Trophy (2008), Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), Hart Memorial Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013), Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award (2008, 2009, 2010), Conn Smythe Trophy (2018) and others.