Ovechkin gets goal No. 878, moves within 17 of Gretzky

NHL HIGHLIGHTS

The Ducks’ Trevor Zegras, right, gets upended by Dallas defenseman Cody Ceci in Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Honda Center. For details on the game and more on the Ducks, go online to ocregister.com/sports. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

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The Associated Press

Alex Ovechkin scored his 878th career goal —into an empty net with 0.1 seconds left on the clock — to move closer to Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record, and the Washington Capitals defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-3 on Tuesday night.

Ovechkin’s goal puts him 17 away from breaking Gretzky’s mark of 894 that once seemed unapproachable. The Capitals have 29 games left for him to get to 895 or beyond this season, though he does have another year left on his contract.

Andrew Mangiapane, Tom Wilson, Lars Eller, Nic Dowd and Aliaksei Protas also scored the Washington, and Logan Thompson stopped 31 of the 34 shots

Florida’s winning streak ended at three.

BRUINS 3, WILD 0: Charlie McAvoy got his 299th career point with a goal in the second period and Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 shots for his third shutout of the season as Boston beat Minnesota. Minnesota was shut out for the second straight game.

SABRES 3, BLUE JACKETS 2: Alex Tuch had two goals and an assist, and Buffalo beat Columbus for their first four-game winning streak in more than two years. Buffalo had not won four straight since a five-game run spanning Jan. 19-26, 2023.

LIGHTNING 4, SENATORS 3: Brandon Hagel scored less than two minutes into the third period to give Tampa Bay the lead for good in a victory that snapped Ottawa’s five-game winning streak.

DEVILS 3, PENGUINS 2, SO: Timo Meier beat Alex Nedeljkovic in the seventh round of a shootout to lift New Jersey past Pittsburgh.

ISLANDERS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1: Brock Nelson snapped a tie midway through the third period and Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves, helping New York to its eighth win in nine games. The Golden Knights lost their fourth straight.

JETS 3, HURRICANES 0: Eric Comrie made 29 saves and potent Winnipeg power play struck for a pair of goals extend its winning streak to seven games. Nino Niederreiter and Neal Pionk both scored with the man advantage, giving the Jets an NHL-best 51 power-play goals this season.

OILERS 3, BLUES 2, OT: Connor Brown scored at 2:33 of overtime and Edmonton rallied to beat St. Louis. Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which has won four of its last six games.

MAPLE LEAFS 6, FLAMES 3: William Nylander registered a hat trick and Auston Matthew had three assists as Toronto doubled-up Calgary.

UTAH 3, FLYERS 2, OT: Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the game in the final second of overtime to lead Utah. He also assisted on the third Utah goal.

RED WINGS 5, KRAKEN 4, SO: Patrick Kane scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Detroit its second seven-game winning streak under new coach Todd McClellan.

CANUCKS 3, AVALANCHE 0: Thatcher Demko stopped all 25 shots he faced, Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, and Vancouver defeated high-scoring Colorado.

NOTES: Stars All-Star defenseman Miro Heiskanen underwent knee surgery in New York on Tuesday is classified as “month to month,” possibly leaving a window for him to return late in the regular season or during the playoffs.