Ovechkin scores twice as Capitals rout the Rangers

WASHINGTON — While the fisticuffs never materialized, the Washington Capitals made a season-opening 5-1 victory against the division-rival New York Rangers memorable Wednesday night for Alex Ovechkin’s 731st and 732nd goals and Hendrix Lapierre’s first.

Ovechkin scored twice to pass Marcel Dionne for sole possession of fifth place on the NHL goals list, putting him a couple of steps closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record that had long seemed unbreakable. And Gretzky was even part of Lapierre’s goal, talking about his relationship with Ovechkin on national television while the 19-year-old put the puck into the net and went sliding into the boards.

Alexandar Georgiev allowed five goals on 27 Capitals shots, getting the nod in the first half of a back-to-back with regular starter Igor Shesterkin expected to be in net for the Rangers home opener.