Ovechkin’s record chase down to 9

Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net Sunday to move nine back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Ovechkin backhanded the puck in from center ice with 1:29 left in the third period to seal the Capitals’ 4-2 victory over the visiting Kraken that extended their winning streak to four games. “He’s still getting a couple of looks here and there, but he’s finding ways to score,” linemate Dylan Strome said. “It’s what he’s done his whole career and especially this year. ... Nine more.” It was Ovechkin’s league-leading eighth empty-netter of the season and 65th of his career, which is the most of any player in NHL history. Fans chanted, “Ovi! Ovi!” as the red, white and blue goal counter that was unveiled in one corner of Capital One Arena earlier in the week flipped from 885 to 886. “We all know what’s happening and how historic it is,” Strome said. “It’s incredible.” The 39-year-old Ovechkin remains on pace before the end of this season to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 that for so long seemed unapproachable.

Curry gets side hustle at alma mater

Warriors star Stephen Curry will serve as an assistant general manager for Davidson College’s basketball teams. The four-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP will be the first active player in U.S. major pro sports to take an administrative job with a college team. He will continue to play with the Warriors while serving in this newly created role at his alma mater. Curry and his wife, Ayesha, and longtime Davidson supporters Don, Matt and Erica Berman, are creating an eight-figure fund to support the college’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. The college asked them to serve in these advisory roles, investing their time and sharing their experience with both men’s and women’s basketball, according to a news release on Monday. Curry will draw resources and support from the Under Armour global sports marketing team, one of his major sponsors. He said he wants Davidson’s scholar-athletes to be able to compete in the top ranks of college athletics in an ever-changing landscape where athletes are now allowed to profit from their name, image and likeness.

Ex-slugger Vaughn admits HGH use

Former big league slugger Mo Vaughn confirmed he used human growth hormone to recover from a nagging knee injury late in his career. The 1995 American League MVP told The Athletic in a recent interview that he had HGH injected in his knee to extend his career. “I was trying to do everything I could,” Vaughn told The Athletic. “I knew I had a bad, degenerative knee. I was shooting HGH in my knee. Whatever I could do to help the process.” Vaughn was one of baseball’s most feared hitters during his prime while with the Red Sox in the late 1990s, hitting 39 homers with 126 RBIs during his MVP season. He began having injury issues later in his career, including his left knee and a ruptured biceps tendon that cost him the entire 2001 season. Vaughn was among the players named in 2007 in the Mitchell Report, which looked into the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. The report offered evidence that Vaughn made three separate purchases of HGH in 2001. MLB didn’t ban HGH until 2005, nearly two years after Vaughn’s last game. —AP