Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin shoots and scores his 500th career NHL goal during the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Verizon Center, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10.Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
Alex Ovechkin scored his 500th and 501st goals to become the 43rd NHL player to reach the milestone and the Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 7-1 on Sunday night.
Ovechkin reached the mark in vintage fashion, scoring from just beyond the left hash marks during a second-period power play to give the Washington Capitals a 5-1 lead.
Teammates mobbed Ovechkin, and he got an extended standing ovation and took a skate around the rink, acknowledging the cheering crowd that included his parents. He later drew another roar while waving to fans from the bench.
"It's a great feeling obviously to do it in front of our fans," Ovechkin said, adding that it was a "pretty special moment."
He added No. 501 midway through third, beating a defender with a sweeping deke at the top of the zone before smacking a shot past goalie Andrew Hammond for the 7-1 advantage.
At 801 games, the Russian winger is the fifth-fastest player to 500 goals, trailing only Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693). The 30-year-old Ovechkin has 26 goals this season, including five over his past three games, and is the NHL leader in career goals by a Russian-born player.
Ovechkin was the first overall pick in the 2004 draft by Washington. He's been named an All-Star in each of his 11 seasons and was voted a captain for this year's All-Star game. He's won three straight Richard Trophies as the league's leading goal scorer and five overall. He's also won three Hart Trophies as league MVP.
Washington has won four straight overall and 10 consecutive home games.
Justin Williams, T.J. Oshie, Zach Sill, Dmitry Orlov and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington. Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom each had three assists, and Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves.
Mike Hoffman had Ottawa's lone goal, and Hammond stopped 29 of 36 shots.
Williams put Washington on the board 8:07 into the first, and Oshie scored on a power play later in the period.
Hoffman cut the deficit to 2-1 3:32 into the second period, but Sill, Orlov and Ovechkin scored in the second and then Wilson and Ovechkin had goals in the third.
Notes: Capitals coach Barry Trotz said before the game that injured defencemen John Carlson and Brooks Orpik, both on injured reserve, might skate at the team's next practice on Tuesday. ... Michael Latta was a scratch for Washington with an upper-body injury. ... Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson did not play but in his next game, he'll try for his 200th career victory. ... Hoffman's second-period goal was the 50th in his career.