Alex Ovechkin moves within 9 goals of surpassing Wayne Gretzky as NHL’s all-time leading scorer

Alex Ovechkin has inched within single digits of overtaking Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time goals leader after scoring an empty-net goal in the Washington Capitals’ 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.

Late in the third period, with the Kraken having pulled goaltender Joey Daccord, Ovechkin backhanded the puck from center ice for the insurance goal to seal the Eastern Conference leaders’ fourth consecutive win.

Ovechkin’s goal, the 886th of his career, leaves him just nine shy of surpassing Gretzky’s record. His 33rd goal of the season also marked the 1,600th point of his career, with the Capitals winger becoming only the 11th player in NHL history to reach the milestone.

“We all know what’s happening and how historic it is,” said Capitals center Dylan Strome. “It’s incredible. We obviously want to get him on the ice. He does a great job of finding ways to get open. I know (Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery) said it a couple of weeks ago, but he goes to where the puck is going to be and the right spots and those are huge goals.”

With 18 games remaining in the season for the Capitals, Ovechkin is on pace to break the record before the season ends. Washington will next take the ice on Tuesday as they travel to California to face the Anaheim Ducks.

Ovechkin has scored 11 goals in his last 14 games, and 18 goals in his last 30 since he returned from a fractured left fibula suffered in November.

“We all thought it was an unreachable mark at some point in time,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said after the game. “We all put it in the category of, ‘Well, that’s never going to be reached.’ But Ovechkin has been scoring 50 goals (a season) for an awful long time now. The number is what the number is, but I think what Alex has done is he’s going to be the greatest goalscorer of all time. He shows no signs of stopping, so it’s just a matter of time now that he will … officially take the mark as the greatest goal scorer of all time.”

Connor McMichael scored his fourth goal in nine games, with Saturday’s coming during a pivotal moment as he gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Minutes earlier, with both teams tied 2-2 in the third period, tempers boiled over. Officials were forced to stop play after Tom Wilson was caught cross-checking Josh Mahura along the boards as the Kraken player, already on the ice, attempted to get up. The incident sparked a full-scale skirmish between the two teams

As a result, all 10 players on the ice were issued penalties and forced to go into the penalty box.

The Capitals held on to claim the victory and move into a first-place tie with the Winnipeg Jets for the most points (92) in the league.

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