Alex Ovechkin scores his 889th career goal to move 6 goals away from breaking Gretzky's NHL record

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 889th career goal and had to go right by Scott Arniel and the Winnipeg Jets to celebrate with his Washington Capitals teammates. He didn't let the opportunity go to waste.

“He came by the bench and gave me the biggest smirk," Arniel, who was an assistant with the Capitals from 2018-22, said with his own smile.

Ovechkin is now five goals away from tying and six from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record after scoring late Tuesday night to tie a game between the top two teams in the NHL. The goal forced overtime before the Jets won 3-2.

“I’m glad he got the goal," Arniel said. “I’m glad he’s getting closer to whatever that number is. At the end of the day, that’s him. It doesn’t take much. The puck is on his stick, off his stick. I thought we did a really good job for most of the game of trying to limit him. He had a lot of chances, and he had a few on the power play, but I thought we did a really good job of staying over top of him. He doesn’t need much time or space."

With three goals in his past five games, the 39-year-old is back in range to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable this spring. Based on his career and season average, Ovechkin is on pace to get 895 in Washington's penultimate game of the regular season April 15 at the New York Islanders.

“He’s a guy that when you’re on him, you’re not even really on him: You’ve got to be in his pocket or you’ve got to be basically touching him because his release is so lethal,” Winnipeg forward Mason Appleton said. "You can’t just be fronting him because he can get pucks through or around — every which way through the guy. He’s a heck of a goal-scorer, and you give him just a little time and space and he can kill you.”

Ovechkin's record-extending 150th game-tying goal came with 4 minutes left after linemate Aliaksei Protas found him open in the left faceoff circle. He fired a perfect wrist shot past two-time Vezina Trophy winner and current favorite Connor Hellebuyck.

“Everyone do a great job and the puck came to (Protas) and he finds me,” Ovechkin said. “It was a pretty good play by everybody.”

Coach Spencer Carbery called it “a big play in a big moment to get that game tied.” It's becoming his job to find the best situations to get Ovechkin in position to score.

“He obviously wants to be out there, and then I just manage it with certain matchups and certain situations,” Carbery said. "That’s something him and I have talked about and we sort of work through, given the situation and the circumstance of the game.”

Ovechkin has 36 goals this season and is on track to reach 40 for a 14th time, also the most in league history, despite missing 16 games because of a broken left fibula. The spotlight will continue to get brighter as he inches closer to Gretzky.

“It is what it is,” Ovechkin said. “It’s a fun time, obviously, but yeah you just have to enjoy it. It’s a special moment, obviously. Everybody’s watching. Everybody’s paying attention to that.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 889th NHL goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 889th NHL goal with teammates against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 889th NHL goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 889th NHL goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) scores his 889th NHL goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) takes a shot on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during the second period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) gets ready to hop the boards for a shift against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday March 25 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Administration has resigned and criticized the nation’s top health official for allowing “misinformation and lies” to guide his thinking behind the safety of vaccinations.

Dr. Peter Marks sent a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner on Friday saying that he would resign and retire by April 5 as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

In his letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, Marks said he was “willing to work” to address the concerns expressed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about the safety of vaccinations. But he concluded that wasn't possible.

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” he wrote.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.

Marks was offered the choice of resigning or being fired by Kennedy, according to a former FDA official familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn’t have permission to discuss the matter publicly.

Kennedy has a long history of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, although during his Senate confirmation hearings he seemed to say he would not undermine vaccines. He promised the chair of the Senate health committee that he would not change existing vaccine recommendations.

Since becoming secretary, Kennedy has vowed to scrutinize the safety of childhood vaccinations, despite decades of evidence they are safe and have saved millions of lives.

Marks oversaw the agency’s rapid review and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments during the pandemic.

Marks is credited with coining the name and concept for “Operation Warp Speed,” the effort under President Donald Trump to rapidly manufacture vaccines while they were still being tested for safety and efficacy. The initiative cut years off the normal development process.

Despite the project’s success, Trump repeatedly lashed out at the FDA for not approving the first COVID shots even sooner. Trump told confidants after his 2020 loss that he would have been re-elected if the vaccine had been available before Election Day.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized what he called the “firing” of Marks.

“RFK Jr.’s firing of Peter Marks because he wouldn’t bend a knee to his misinformation campaign now allows the fox to guard the hen house," Offit said. “It’s a sad day for America’s children.”

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the issues raised in Marks' resignation letter “should be frightening to anyone committed to the importance of evidence to guide policies and patient decisions.”

“I hope this will intensify the communication across academia, industry and government to bolster the importance of science and evidence,” he wrote.

The resignation follows news Friday that HHS plans to lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country.

In a post on social media Thursday, Kennedy criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy." He also faulted the department’s 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans’ health.

The resignation is the latest blow to the beleaguered health agency, which has been rocked for weeks by layoffs, retirements and a chaotic return-to-office process that left many staffers without permanent offices, desks or other supplies. Last month, Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, resigned, citing “the indiscriminate firing” of nearly 90 staffers in his division, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by the AP.

Marks, who could not be reached for comment, also raised concerns in his letter about “efforts currently being advanced by some on the adverse health effects of vaccination are concerning” as well as the “unprecedented assault on scientific truth that has adversely impacted public health in our nation.”

He went on to detail the historic benefits of vaccinations dating back to George Washington and pointed to the ongoing measles outbreak as proof of what can happen when doubts about science take hold.

“The ongoing multistate measles outbreak that is particularly severe in Texas reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined,” he wrote.

The measles outbreak, which could go on for months, has now spread to Kansas and Ohio after sickening more than 370 in Texas and New Mexico.

If it hits other unvaccinated communities across the U.S., as may now be the case in Kansas, the outbreak could endure for a year and threaten the nation’s status as having eliminated the local spread of the vaccine-preventable disease, public health experts said.

Casey reported from Boston. Perrone reported from Washington, D.C.

FILE - Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine an update from Federal officials on efforts to combat COVID-19, Tuesday, May 11, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP, File)