Pierre-Luc Dubois shares untold story behind Alex Ovechkin's iconic belly flop after breaking Wayne Grezky's all-time record

Carolina Hurricanes v Washington Capitals - Game Five - Source: Getty
Alex Ovechkin’s accidental dive celebration becomes legendary after record-breaking goal (image credit: getty)

Alex Ovechkin is the NHL's leading scorer with 897 goals. He entered the game on April 6 tied with Wayne Gretzky with 894 goals. Ovechkin scored his 895th goal versus the New York Islanders and reached the milestone after 20 seasons.

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He scored on a power-play shot past goalie Ilya Sorokin, and as soon as the puck touched the net, fans and teammates celebrated the historic moment. However, it was Ovechkin's celebration that grabbed everyone's attention.

It has become famous as it was a belly flop, sliding across the blue line with his arms out. Teammates rushed over to him, adding to the excitement, and surrounded him. The clip of the dive went viral, and many still remember it as a fun and unusual celebration.

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Washington Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois shared a story about the dive on Monday.

"The funniest thing about all this is that after he scored the goal, his celebration (the dive) wasn't what he wanted to do at all," Dubois said, via TVA Sports. "He fell!"

The celebration was not intentional, and with everyone surrounding Ovechkin, he couldn't celebrate the way he wanted to.

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"When he got up, we were all already on top of him, so he couldn't celebrate like he wanted to," Dubois said.

Ovechkin confirmed the story after the game, mentioning that the ice was slippery, which caused him to fall.

"Ice was bad today, so I fell," Ovechkin said, via NHL.com. "I’m pretty sure it’s a pretty cool moment. It was cool."
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His former teammate, T.J. Oshie, who retired in June, was at the arena during the historical moment. He compared Ovechkin's celebration to a fountain dive after the 2018 Stanley Cup win.

"That looked very much like a fountain dive," Oshie said, via RMNB. "I’m not trademarking it right now, but it was a fountain-esque dive that he did there over the blue line."
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Ovechkin jokingly responded to Oshie's comparison and said, “Almost.”

Alex Ovechkin has not decided about retirement yet

Alex Ovechkin is entering his 21st NHL season. He is in the final year of his five-year $47.5 million contract, and many are wondering if it will be his last campaign. After Washington’s playoff loss last season, Ovechkin admitted that he has not decided how many more seasons he'll play.

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"To be honest with you, I haven’t thought about it yet, but we’ll see what’s going to happen," Ovechkin said on May 17, via NHL.com. "Obviously, I’m going to try to do my best to be able to do well next year, and we’ll see."

Ovechkin is three goals away from reaching 900. He continues to play with high energy even at 39 years old, and that belly flop celebration showed his playful side.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez
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