WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored the 884th goal of his NHL career late in the Washington Capitals' 3-1 loss to the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, moving 10 away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Ovechkin beat fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning with four minutes left in the third period after getting stopped twice by him earlier.
“He’s the best goal-scorer for a reason,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “You give him one little extra space there, he puts it home.”
Ovechkin’s 31st goal of the season is his 12th in 22 games against Vasilevskiy. He's now on pace to break the record in early April.
“He’s obviously feeling it right now with the way he’s been scoring,” Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman said. "Vasy did some unreal saves, but he’s going to get his chances. He’s arguably one of the best goal-scorers of all time, so he gets those chances in the slot, it’s tough to save those.”
Despite the 39-year-old scoring, the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals lost a third consecutive game for the first time this season.
“Finishing and getting on the board was huge, but I still think it’s going to get better," coach Spencer Carbery said. "O is finishing at a real high rate coming out of the break. I think his play, chemistry and the whole product of our group — whether that’s his line or the power play — will continue to improve. I’m hopeful of that.”
With Ovechkin closing in on passing Gretzky but still double digits away, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before the game, "If he breaks the record tonight, then we did something wrong.”
Ovechkin did not quite do that, but he still took another step closer to making hockey history.
“That’s why he’s got 800-plus of them,” Cooper said afterward. “He knows what to do when he’s in that spot.”
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press