How Alex Ovechkin topped Wayne Gretzky’s once-unbreakable record
As our charts show, the Russian machine defies both his age and his era
SPORTS RECORDS are sometimes described as unbreakable. Over the weekend Alexander Ovechkin, a star Russian ice-hockey player with the Washington Capitals, provided an object lesson in why claims of unbreakability should be applied sparingly: because every now and again a freak athletic specimen comes along who defies all precedent. Mr Ovechkin, or Ovi as he is known to the ice-hockey world, is one such specimen. His new record for most goals scored in the National Hockey League is, adjusted for competition, much more impressive than the Wayne Gretzky mark that he surpassed.
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