NEW YORK — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including an overtime game-winner, to put the Russian one goal away from 500 for his NHL career.
After helping the Capitals secure a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Ovechkin can join the 500 club at home Sunday, when the Capitals host the Ottawa Senators.
After that Washington won’t play again until it hosts Vancouver Thursday.
“I’m just going to take it game by game,” Ovechkin said. “If I score, I score. If not, there’s still plenty of games left. I’m still going to score one goal sooner or later, I think.”
Ovechkin has already notched one milestone this season, when his 484th career goal on Nov. 19 saw him surpass Sergei Fedorov for the Russian with the most career goals in the league.
If Ovechkin scores Sunday it would be in his 801st game, which would make him the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 500 after Canadian great Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693).
Ovechkin’s 498th goal came on a power play with 15 seconds remaining in the first period.
He pounced on an errant pass from Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi to give Washington a 1-0 lead.
Number 499 capped a wild sequence that included Capitals goalie Braden Holtby’s save on Rangers left wing Rick Nash.
Rangers center Derek Stepan’s attempt off the rebound was blocked by Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt and when the puck came off Schmidt’s stick Ovechkin gathered it and skated the length of the ice, beating goaltender Henrik Lundqvist through defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
Lightning 3, Canucks 2 (OT): Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Canucks center Henrik Sedin got caught in a line change, allowing Kucherov to take a pass from defenseman Vladislav Namestnikov and beat Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom with low shot with 1:09 left in overtime.
Blues 2, Kings 1 (SO): Blues galtender Brian Elliott made 26 saves and Troy Brouwer scored the winner in a shootout as St. Louis defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1.
St. Louis (24-14-7) snapped a five-game losing streak and salvaged one of three games on their road trip. The Blues drew within a point of the Chicago Blackhawks for second place in the Central Division and seven points behind leaders Dallas.
Hurricanes 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT): The Carolina Hurricanes lost their grip on a three-goal lead against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but escaped Nationwide Arena with a 4-3 victory after Jordan Staal scored in overtime.
Staal poked the puck around Blue Jackets Brandon Saad in the Carolina end, skated the length of the ice and beat Blue Jackets rookie goaltender with a wrist shot at 2:45.
Senators 2, Bruins 1 (OT): Mark Stone scored off his own rebound on a wraparound attempt with 37.5 seconds left in overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 win over Boston at Canadian Tire Centre.
The win moved the Senators into the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Flyers 4, Islanders 0: The Philadelphia Flyers outplayed the New York Islanders from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer in a 4-0 win at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers were the aggressors from the get-go, outshooting the Islanders 11-2 after one period before breaking through for two second-period goals and earning their third straight win.
Other results: Sharks 7, Maple Leafs 0; Penguins 3, Canadiens 1; Wild 2, Stars 1; Coyotes 4, Predators 0. — Agencies
