03/18/26 09:18:00
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03/18 21:16 CDT Ovechkin scores his 922nd goal and Hutson scores in his debut
as the Caps beat the Senators 4-1
Ovechkin scores his 922nd goal and Hutson scores in his debut as the Caps beat
the Senators 4-1
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Alex Ovechkin scored his 922nd goal and Cole Hutson scored
his first to lead the Washington Capitals past the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on
Wednesday night.
Ovechkin is a goal shy of 1,000 --- if his 77 postseason tallies are included.
The Capitals are still six points out of a playoff spot with time running out,
but this was an encouraging night for the franchise. Hutson made his NHL debut
less than a week after the end of his season at Boston University, and the
19-year-old defenseman showed off his smooth skating and stickhandling
throughout the night, finally scoring into an empty net with 25.7 seconds
remaining.
It was the 40-year-old Ovechkin who opened the scoring in the second period
when Rasmus Sandin's pass bounced off his right skate past goalie Linus
Ullmark. That momentarily gave Ovechkin sole possession of the team lead in
goals this season with 25, but then Tom Wilson beat Ullmark later in the period
for his 25th.
Ovechkin has led the Caps in goals in all 20 seasons of his career, sharing the
top spot only once --- with T.J. Oshie in 2016-17.
With Ullmark pulled, Tim Stutzle poked the puck past Capitals goalie Logan
Thompson with 2:41 left in the third to spoil the shutout, but Aliaksei Protas
scored into an empty net for Washington just over a minute later. Then Hutson
did likewise, to the delight of a home crowd that had been practically cheering
his every move.
Ovechkin's goal was the 450th of his career at home, moving him past Gordie
Howe into sole possession of second place behind Wayne Gretzky (492).
Although Gretzky lost his career mark for regular-season goals to Ovechkin last
season, he's the only player who has reached 1,000 with the playoffs included.
He finished with 1,016.
Ottawa remained five points out of a playoff spot after losing in regulation
for just the third time in 16 games.
Up next
Senators: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Capitals: Host New Jersey on Friday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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