WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Coronato scored to help the Calgary Flames beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Tuesday night, winning to move into a playoff spot despite Alex Ovechkin getting one step closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
Ovechkin beat Dan Vladar five minutes into the third period to score his 883rd goal and move 12 back of passing Gretzky’s mark of 894. It was also his 30th goal of the season, reaching that milestone for the 19th time in his 20 years in the league.
That came with the Capitals trailing 2-0, and they could not get any closer. Logan Thompson stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced. The top team in the Eastern Conference lost in regulation in Washington for the first time since Nov. 23, ending a 16-game home point streak.
Martin Pospisil and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored and Vladar made 26 saves for Calgary, which has won two in a row coming out of the league’s 4 Nations Face-Off break to leapfrog Pacific Division-rival Vancouver for the second and final wild card in the West.
Takeaways
Flames: Rasmus Andersson acknowledged earlier in the day it would “be a dogfight” down the stretch to get in. It will be, but the Flames play hard and that overcompensates for any talent disadvantage they may have against opponents further up the standings.
Capitals: They were due for a letdown after scoring 15 goals in two wins over the weekend.
Key moment
Coronato caught up to the puck and sniped a shot top-left corner on Thompson late in the first for his 15th goal of the season.
Key stat
Ovechkin is just the fourth player to score 30-plus goals in a season at age 39 or older.
Up next
The Flames visit Tampa Bay on Thursday, and the Capitals host St. Louis.
___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press