RALEIGH, N.C. -- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and many other League executives were at Lenovo Center on Wednesday to see Alex Ovechkin score his 892nd goal, moving the Washington Capitals forward to within three of breaking Wayne Gretzky 's NHL record of 894.

Reminders of Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record are all over Washington and the surrounding suburbs of the nation’s capital.

It seemed unbreakable. But then Alex Ovechkin continued to score heaps of goals well into his 30s, and now the 39-year-old is about to break The Great One's all-time record of 894 goals, maybe as soon as next week (and in the same number of games Gretzky played !).