NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal midway through the third period of the Washington Capitals’ game against New York Rangers on Wednesday night, moving nine away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
The Capitals’ captain scored as he knocked in a loose puck from the left side with 9:32 left in the third period to tie the score 2-2. Ovechkin now has 46 goals in 76 career games against the Rangers.
“Great job on faceoff,” Ovechkin said of the play. “Great battle and the puck came to me.”
”He has a flair for the dramatics at a key moment in the game,” Carbery said. “The puck squirts to him and he makes no mistake. That’s a huge goal for our team, huge goal on the power play. It’s not him in his office, it’s him jumping on a loose puck.”
The Capitals went on to win 3-2 in overtime on Tom Wilson’s goal at 4:07.
Ovechkin has 32 goals in 46 games this season. He had 15 goals in his first 18 games, then missed 16 games with a fractured left fibula. He returned Dec. 28 and has scored 17 in 28 games since.