WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 878th career goal into an empty net with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to move closer to Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record, and the Washington Capitals defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Ovechkin’s goal puts him 17 away from breaking Gretzky’s mark of 894 that once seemed unapproachable. The Capitals have 29 games left for him to get to 895 or beyond this season, though he does have another year left on his contract.
Andrew Mangiapane, Tom Wilson, Lars Eller and Nic Dowd scored on two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and Aliaksei Protas also had an empty-netter. Logan Thompson, among the current contenders for the award, stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced to help Washington avoid losing three in a row.
Florida’s winning streak ended at three despite goals from Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk and 21 saves by Bobrovsky.
Takeaways
Panthers: There were flashes of brilliance throughout, including Barkov outmuscling Washington’s Jakob Chychrun on his goal in the second, but it wasn’t enough for the reigning champs to keep their roll going.
Capitals: They looked flat early, found their game and again got depth scoring, including Wilson’s shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 rush from Protas.
Key moment
Early in the third period, Eller outmaneuvered Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and roofed a shot past Bobrovsky to end a 10-game goal drought. It was Eller’s ninth this season and fifth in his career against the goalie known as “Bob,” counting playoffs. Dowd scored the insurance goal, and what turned out to be the game-winner, a few minutes later.
Key stat
Protas and Wilson are tied for second behind Ovechkin on the team goal-scoring list at 22 apiece.
Up Next
Panthers visit St. Louis on Thursday, the same night the Capitals play at Philadelphia.