By STEPHEN WHYNO
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored his 872nd profession objective to maneuver 23 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL file, and the Washington Capitals beat the struggling New York Rangers 7-4 Saturday.
Ovechkin has 4 targets in 5 video games since getting back from lacking the earlier 16 due to a damaged left leg. The 39-year-old has 19 targets this season and is on tempo to go Gretzky’s mark of 894 this spring.
Dylan Strome, Lars Eller, Andrew Mangiapane, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas additionally scored in opposition to Jonathan Fast, who stays caught on 399 profession wins. Tom Wilson sealed it with an empty-netter with 37.5 seconds left, and Logan Thompson made 28 saves to compensate for giving the puck away to Chris Kreider for his objective right into a wide-open internet.
Sam Carrick additionally obtained a objective off a turnover by Ovechkin and Filip Chytil and Mika Zibanejad scored within the third interval to make issues attention-grabbing. Fast allowed six targets on 27 pictures because the Rangers misplaced for a sixteenth time in 21 video games to sink from solidly in a playoff to tied for final place.
TAKEAWAYS
Rangers: After displaying life Thursday by beating Boston to finish a four-game skid, they had been again to their sloppy, inconsistent play. Peter Laviolette’s job is in jeopardy even when his teaching is hardly responsible for thus many prime gamers underachieving.
Capitals: They didn’t play their finest, and so they’re in a little bit of a midseason lull, however they hold successful.
KEY MOMENT
Lower than a minute after Zibanejad scored to chop Washington’s result in 5-4 with 6:56 left, Protas restored the two-goal lead following his shot off the correct put up to the crease and placing the puck in.
KEY STAT
With two power-play targets, the Capitals have scored seven in seven video games.
UP NEXT
The Rangers play at Chicago on Sunday afternoon, whereas the Capitals go to Buffalo on Monday evening.
