Reminders of Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record are all over Washington and the surrounding suburbs of the nation’s capital.

Alex Ovechkin almost stopped playing hockey. Raised in the final years of the Soviet sports system by parents who were already accomplished athletes, Ovechkin was given every chance to succeed and he has evolved into a superstar on the ice.

Reminders of Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's record are everywhere in the nation's capital and surrounding suburbs, including more than a dozen “GR8 Chase” goal counters in pl