Alexander Ovechkin Passes Wayne Gretzky for Most Goals Scored in NHL History

Alexander Ovechkin has proven he's "The Greatest One" ... at least at goal scoring that is -- 'cause he just passed Wayne Gretzky for the most goals scored in NHL history.

The Washington Capitals star broke the record mere moments ago in Long Island, New York ... scoring a second period goal against the Islanders.

Check out the clip ... Ovi slaps the puck right by All-Star goalie Ilya Sorokin for number 895 -- and the crowd goes wild jumping and screaming while Ovechkin slides on his belly across the ice like a penguin in celebration.

Alexander's teammates surround him on the ice ... and, the whole game stopped to honor the achievement.

Ovechkin gave a short speech thanking his family, friends and countryman Sorokin too ... while ESPN also shared messages of congratulations from huge stars like Derek Jeter, Simone Biles and a fellow all-time scoring leader, LeBron James.

Gretzky was on hand to watch the achievement ... looking overjoyed when his record was finally broken before coming down to the ice and shaking Ovi's hand.

It's a big accomplishment for Ovechkin, who is playing in his 1,487th game Sunday ... the exact same number of games Gretzky played in his career, BTW.

Don't worry about Gretzky too much though ... he's still the all-time NHL leader in points and assists, and holds numerous other records