WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored career goals 855 and 856 less than two minutes apart, and the Washington Capitals beat the Rangers 5-3 on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth showcase of the sport.
Ovechkin moved 38 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record, scoring two of the seven in the game’s first 25 minutes.
A furious start also included Matt Rempe fighting Dylan McIlrath in his return to the Rangers lineup, electrifying the sellout crowd mixed between home red and visiting blue.
Capitals fans went home happy as their team continued a strong start thanks to Connor McMichael’s fourth goal of the season and the second by Aliaksei Protas, who had a pair of assists for a three-point night. Logan Thompson made 16 saves and Nic Dowd sealed it with an empty-netter with 35.8 seconds left.
Despite allowing four goals, Igor Shesterkin was arguably the best player on the ice in stopping 41 of the 45 shots he faced.
New York got goals from Will Cuylle 58 seconds after Ovechkin’s first, Chris Kreider on the power play and Filip Chytil on a deflection but could not give Shesterkin enough support.
Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun left early with what the team called an upper-body injury.