Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal during second period NHL hockey action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alta., Monday, March 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY, Alta (AP) – Alex Ovechkin scored twice and became the third player in NHL history to have at least 20 goals in 19 consecutive seasons as the Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames 5-2.
The 38-year-old Ovechkin had two power-play goals in the second period as Washington won its third straight game. He joined Gordie Howe (22 straight seasons) and Brendan Shanahan (19 straight seasons) as the only players to achieve the goal-scoring feat.
Dylan Strome, Hendrix Lapierre and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington (33-25-9), which moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings. It’s the first time the Capitals have occupied a playoff spot since Jan. 2.
Kevin Rooney and MacKenzie Weegar scored for Calgary (33-30-5). The Flames finished 2-2-0 in a four-game homestand.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
SABRES 6 KRAKEN 2
SEATTLE (AP) – Jeff Skinner had a hat trick, with his first goal coming during a three-goal outburst in the first six minutes to chase Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord, and the Buffalo Sabres cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch also scored in the first period for the Sabres, who earned their first win in six tries against the third-year Kraken.
Owen Power had Buffalo’s other goal. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves.
The three-goal barrage came after Jordan Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game. Matty Beniers scored on a power play late in the first but the Kraken lost their fifth straight game – all at home.
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