Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
By Drew Lerner on

One of the few records in all of sports that many never thought would be broken was broken on Sunday.

The Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career NHL goal against the New York Islanders, eclipsing Wayne Gretzky’s longstanding all-time goals record. Fortunate for hockey fans, Ovechkin’s historic goal was broadcast both to a national audience on TNT and a local D.C. audience on Monumental Sports Network.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert had the call for TNT.

“Here he is. Ovechkin. Shoots. He scores! He scores! Number 895!” Albert bellowed out during the fast-developing goal.

Monumental Sports Network play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati had the call for the local Capitals broadcast. Beninati has been the television voice of the Capitals since Ovechkin’s rookie season in 2005.

“Cross-ice. Ovechkin. Fires. Scores! The chasing days are done! Alex Ovechkin is the greatest goal scorer in the history of the NHL!”

Beninati’s partner, Monumental Sports Network analyst Craig Laughlin, who recently returned to the booth after recovering from open-heart surgery, expressed his gratitude for getting to witness history.

“He’s a special guy. And I just had a good feeling about this. I’m so glad I’m back in the booth. I feel like I never left, but I did. And watching that, to me, I was just like, frozen. There’s nothing that I could have ever said or done because I had to watch in amazement that shot going in for the all-time record,” Laughlin said.

Both broadcasts were widely praised for their calls.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

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