Ovie points past 1,000 as Capitals stop Pens
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to reach and exceed the 1,000-point plateau, leading the Capitals to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night in Washington.
Becoming the 84th player in NHL history to hit the milestone, Ovechkin put the team on his back as Washington won its seventh consecutive game and snapped Pittsburgh’s winning streak at five.
Justin Williams and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 30 saves.
Ovechkin wasted no time picking up his 1,000th point, beating Marc-Andre Fleury just 35 seconds in for his 20th goal this season. He’s the only player to score 20 in every season since 200506, his rookie year.
In true Ovechkin fashion, the Russian superstar scored from his spot on the power play in the second period for his 1,001st point.
Evgeni Malkin, who was picked second behind Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL draft, and Patric Hornqvist scored for Pittsburgh.
Panthers 2, Islanders 1 — Jason Demers scored the tiebreaking goal early in the second period, Roberto Luongo stopped 29 shots and Florida slipped past host New York.
Keith Yandle also scored for the Panthers, who won for the fourth time in six games.
Nick Leddy had the Islanders’ goal and Thomas Greiss finished with 22 saves. New York lost for the fourth time in five games and has managed just one goal in each of their last three.
The 37-year-old Luongo, who was drafted by the Islanders fourth overall in 1997 and spent part of the 1999-2000 season in New York, improved to 12-11-3 against his former team.
Canadiens 7, Jets 4 — Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen each scored twice and visiting Montreal dominated Winnipeg.
Tomas Plekanec and Sven Andrighetto, with his first of the season, also had goals for the Canadiens. Shea Weber had a pair of assists, and Al Montoya made 22 saves.
The Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck allowed three goals on seven shots in his sixth straight start before being replaced by Michael Hutchinson late in the first period. Mark Scheifele scored twice, and Mathieu Perreault and Bryan Little scored.
Flames 3, Sharks 2 — Dougie Hamilton scored at 17:41 of the third period to lead host Calgary over San Jose.
Hamilton and rookie Matthew Tkachuk each finished with a goal and an assist for the Flames, and Michael Frolik also scored. Mikael Backlund added a pair of assists.
Elsewhere in the NHL — The Anaheim Ducks acquired goalie Jhonas Enroth from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a seventh-round draft pick in 2018. . . .
The Nashville Predators claimed forward Derek Grant off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres.