Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin celebrates his first goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period in Vancouver. The Capitals won 5-1 on Nov. 29, 2022.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Alex Ovechkin scored twice – and made history in the process – as the Washington Capitals topped the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Tuesday.
He now has 403 road goals, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
Anthony Mantha added a goal and an assist for the Capitals (10-11-3), while John Carlson and Martin Fehervary also scored.
Nils Hoglander replied for the Canucks (9-11-3), who saw their three-game win streak snapped.
Washington’s Dary Kuemper stopped 31-of-32 shots and Spencer Martin made 23 saves for Vancouver.
Ovechkin nearly netted a hat trick when Vancouver pulled Martin in favour of an extra attacker with just over six minutes left on the game clock, but his rocket of a shot skimmed the outside post of the empty net.
Fehervary went on to seal the score at 5-1, flipping a high puck into the Canucks’ zone and into the unmanned crease 15:57 into the third.
Carlson put away the lone tally of the second, chipping in a loose puck from the low hash marks 18:47 into the period to give Washington a three-goal cushion.
The visitors took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission after Mantha, alone at the top of the crease, fired a wrist shot past Martin 14:35 into the opening frame. Lars Eller registered an assist on the play, marking the 200th helper of his NHL career.
Hoglander got the Canucks on the board 40 seconds earlier with his second goal of the season. The Swedish winger collected the puck from J.T. Miller and cut across the crease, tucking a backhanded shot between Kuemper’s skate and the post.
The play extended Miller’s point streak to nine games with four goals and seven assists across the stretch.
Ovechkin made history 11:52 into the first, blasting a one-timer from the faceoff circle past Martin to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead with his 13th of the season. The strike marked his 403rd road goal.
The future Hall of Famer put away his first of the night 5:35 into the game. As Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes came around from behind the net, Ovechkin picked the puck off his stick and batted a quick shot in to give Washington the early 1-0 lead.
It was his 135th game-opening goal, tying Jaromir Jagr for the most in the NHL’s history books.
The result gives the Capitals a sweep of the two-game season series. They also took a 6-4 win over the Canucks in Washington on Oct. 17.
Power-less play
Washington went 0-for-1 on the power play Tuesday and Vancouver was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Ups and downs
Vancouver assigned winger Vasily Podkolzin and defenceman Jack Rathbone to the Abbotsford Canucks Monday, then recalled forward Phillip Di Giuseppe from the American Hockey League club on Tuesday.
Up next
The Canucks continue a four-game homestand Thursday when they host the Florida Panthers. The Capitals take on the Kraken in Seattle the same night.