Ovechkin nets his 600th goal

WASHINGTON Everyone around Alex Ovechkin had a hunch this was his night.

His wife, Nastya, had flown back from Moscow just in time. Coach Barry Trotz noticed Ovechkin was unusually quiet.

By the time he scored the 599th goal of his career, Ovechkin sensed it, too. Less than four minutes into the second period of the Washington Capitals’ game against the Winnipeg Jets, Ovechkin put back a rebound and skated into the spotlight as the latest member of the NHL’s 600-goal club.

The Russian superstar scored twice to reach the milestone in typical Ovechkin fashion, becoming the fourthfastest player in NHL history to 600 behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull.

“When I score 599, I felt like, ‘OK I still have to make a push two periods,”’ Ovechkin said. “Finally, I scored.”

Ovechkin’s rebound goal past Connor Hellebuyck 3:53 into the second period was his 42nd of the season as he tries to hit 50 for the eighth time. His first goal 4:35 into the first period came on a 5-on-3 power play as the Russian winger looked determined to reach 600 after several games on the doorstep.

“He knew he was going to get it done today,” Trotz said after the Capitals’ 3-2 overtime victory . “The great thing about Ovi is when he puts something to it in his mind, he was going to get it done.”

Capitals fans who have watched Ovechkin shine as the most productive goal scorer of the past decade-plus gave him a standing ovation for almost a minute after he reached the mark. Chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” continued as he waved from the bench in the moments after and during a video montage at the next timeout.

Ovechkin recaptured sole possession of the NHL lead against Jets winger Patrik Laine, who scored his 41st of the season to attempt to keep pace with his idol.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, FLYERS 2

PHILADELPHIA — MarcAndre Fleury made 38 saves to become the 13th goalie in NHL history with 400 career victories, and Ryan Carpenter scored the winning goal for Vegas with 2:40 left.

BLUE JACKETS 5, CANADIENS 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Seth Jones was the driving force behind two power-play goals in the first period, helping the

3 RANGERS 6, HURRICANES

NEW YORK — Jimmy Vesey scored three times, Mats Zuccarello had two goals and the Rangers stopped a threegame slide.

SENATORS 5, PANTHERS 3

SUNRISE, Fla. — Matt Duchene scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with three minutes left, and Ottawa got the road win.