WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin took sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s career goal list in the most Alex Ovechkin way possible: ripping a one-timer past Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov from just inside the faceoff circle on the power play in a big game for the Capitals.
Ovechkin scored his 718th goal to pass Phil Esposito and became the second active player to record 1,300 points, vaulting the Capitals into first place in the East Division by beating the Islanders 3-1 Tuesday night.
“A goal is a goal — it’s always a nice feeling to get it,” Ovechkin said. “It was very good match, big points and obviously big numbers.”
Washington snapped the Islanders’ winning streak at nine and their point streak at 12. The Capitals have won six in a row and 10 of their past 11 to move ahead of the Islanders into first place.
Ovechkin is a big reason for that. The longtime captain has goals in four consecutive games and five of six and is tied with longtime running mate Nicklas Backstrom, who also scored, for the team lead with 12 this season.
The Islanders couldn’t keep Alexander Ovechkin from a history-making performance. Getty ImagesBarry Trotz, who coached the Capitals to the Stanley Cup in 2018, then moved to the Islanders, said he wished he wasn’t in the building for another Ovechkin milestone.
“I do recognize his greatness and the milestones,” Trotz said. “I cheer for him, no question. Just not when he plays against us.”
Ovechkin is 13 goals shy of tying Marcel Dionne for fifth and needs 177 more to break Wayne Gretzky’s record.
“You are a fantastic hockey player,” Esposito said in a video message congratulating Ovechkin. “I don’t know how you score all those goals with the way these guys block shots with the great equipment that they wear. Good luck.”
With Ovechkin leading the way, the Capitals handed the Islanders their first loss since Feb. 27 and first in regulation since Feb. 20. The Islanders outshot the Capitals early, but couldn’t cash in.
“We’d like to keep them off the power play a little more,” Islanders winger Josh Bailey said. “They found a way to put a couple of them in on us there.”
Ovechkin didn’t just score himself. He picked up the secondary assist on T.J. Oshie’s second-period goal. That was Ovechkin’s 1,300th career point, making him the 35th player in history to reach that milestone. Greybeard Joe Thornton is the only other active player on that list at 1,521.
