Alex Ovechkin caught Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goal-scoring record on Friday, with his two-goal performance also lifting the host Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The pair gives the Capitals captain 894 goals, matching Gretzky’s mark. A capacity crowd, including Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, was on hand. Ovechkin’s second goal came from the left faceoff circle off a pass from John Carlson that beat sliding goalie Spencer Knight to the lower left on a power play at 6:13 of the third period, giving the Capitals a 4-3 lead.
Dylan Strome scored and assisted on Ovechkin’s first goal. Martin Fehervary also scored for Washington, and Ryan Leonard notched his first career goal. Carlson tied his season high with three assists. Charlie Lindgren stopped 19 shots as Washington won for the second time in three games.
Frank Nazar finished with a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Philipp Kurashev and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored. Oliver Moore earned his first NHL points with a pair of assists, and Landon Slaggert posted two as well. Knight made 25 saves but could not keep Chicago from its fifth straight defeat.
Red Wings 5, Hurricanes 3
Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist to lead Detroit to a win over visiting Carolina.
Ben Chiarot, Marco Kasper, Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen also scored for Detroit. Dylan Larkin logged two assists, and Cam Talbot made 30 saves. The Red Wings moved within four points of the Montreal Canadiens for the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot and snapped a six-game losing streak against the Hurricanes.
Carolina got goals from Jackson Blake, Eric Robinson and Brent Burns but lost for just the third time in 15 games. Jaccob Slavin notched two assists while Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 16 shots.
Islanders 3, Wild 1
Defenseman Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist to lead New York to a win over Minnesota in Elmont, N.Y.
Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom also scored for the Islanders, who snapped a six-game losing streak (0-4-2). Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.
Mats Zuccarello provided the offense for the Wild, who lost their fourth in a row (0-2-2). Filip Gustavsson stopped 24 shots.
–Field Level Media
