WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 1,000th career NHL goal combining the regular season and playoffs, but the league-leading Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.
Ovechkin’s goal, his 26th of the season, came from his traditional spot on the power play and tied the score with 5:43 left in regulation. He extended his career record to 923, nearly a year since passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in league history.
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Gretzky has NHL 1,016 goals: 894 in the regular season and 122 in the playoffs, the latter being a record the “Great One” still holds.
U.S. Olympic gold medal winner Brock Nelson scored 82 seconds into 3-on-3 OT off a pass from Martin Necas, his 32nd goal of the season. Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy scored earlier for the Avalanche, who have won back-to-back games and on Friday became the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot.
Justin Sourdif also scored for the Capitals, whose two-game winning streak came to an end. It was Sourdif’s 14th goal of his first season with Washington following a late-June trade from back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida.
Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced to earn his 20th win of the season. Logan Thompson made 21 saves in the loss for Washington, which has three teams between it and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Capitals forward Ethen Frank suffered a lower-body injury in the first period, crashing into the net following a shove from Devon Toews. Frank skated off under his own power, went directly to the locker room and did not return.
Up next
Avalanche: Continue their four-game road trip at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
Capitals: Kick off a three-game road swing at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
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