Alexander Ovechkin’s wife Nastasiya and their two sons, Ilya and Sergei, are cheering on the Washington Capitals this weekend.
Nastasiya, 31, brought her two sons to see the Capitals take on the New York Islanders on Sunday, April 6, at the UBS Arena. She shared a sweet snap via her Instagram Story on Sunday of Ilya, 4, and Sergei, 6, cheering on their dad, as well as a cute video of Sergei intently watching the game play out on the ice from the family’s box seats.
During Sunday’s game against the Islanders, Alex, 39, broke a major NHL record, once considered unbreakable after being set by Wayne Gretzky. Alex became the NHL’s all-time goal leader with his 895th career goal, surpassing the legendary Gretzky, 64, known as the Great One, who clapped and watched the historic moment from the stands.
Footage from the moment, per the NHL, showed Alex diving onto the ice in excitement immediately after scoring the goal before he was swarmed by his teammates to celebrate.
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“What a day, huh?” Alex told the crowd right after he scored his goal. “It’s a team sport, and without my boys, the whole organization, the fans, the trainers, coaches, I would never stand there and obviously I would never pass the Great One. So, fellas, thank you very much. We did it, boys, we did it!”
Ovechkin scored his 894th career goal on Friday, April 4, against the Chicago Blackhawks, where Gretzky was also in attendance. (Gretzky scored his 894th career goal on March 29, 1999.)
“I said two years ago that when Alex gets close to my record, I’ll be here,” Gretzky told reporters, per People, on Friday. “… I said it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, when he breaks it.”
He continued, “Right now, I hope Alex enjoys it. And he deserves all the credit and the accolades that he’s getting.”
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As for Alex and Nastasiya’s boys, Sergei and Ilya are frequently in the stands watching their dad play hockey. However, the couple has previously shared they won’t be pushing their kids to follow in their dad’s NHL footsteps.
“[Sergei] really likes hockey, but we never forced him to play,” Nastasiya told Hello! Magazine Russia in 2022. “Dad, of course, played a big role here. [Sergei] has been going to matches since he was a baby [and] it’s very interesting for him. He is a sporty boy: he loves football, tennis is easy for him, and, of course, his grandmother [Alex’s mother, Olympian Tatyana Nikolaevna Ovechkina] plays basketball with him.”
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