WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net to seal the Washington Capitals' 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, moving nine back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record and helping the Eastern Conference leaders win their fourth game in a row.
Ovechkin backhanded the puck in from center ice with 1:31 left, sending the crowd into jubilation and chants of "Ovi! Ovi!" His 33rd goal of the season was also his 1,600th career point.
According to ESPN Research, it was Ovechkin's eighth empty-net goal this season, which pushed him one ahead of Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen and Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel for the NHL lead. Ovechkin also extended his NHL record for the most career empty-net goals with 65.
THE COUNTDOWN HAS OFFICIALLY HIT SINGLE DIGITS#Gr8Chase | @Venture_Global pic.twitter.com/2AowIfZZLM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 9, 2025
Connor McMichael scored the go-ahead goal a few minutes earlier, not long after a line brawl nearly broke out and all five skaters on each team were sent to the penalty box, where players kept jawing at each other before Washington's Brandon Duhaime was escorted to the locker room for his 10-minute misconduct.
The post-whistle pushing and shoving kept flaring up and went on for some time as officials worked to keep Tom Wilson and John Hayden from fighting.
Martin Fehervary and Dylan Strome also scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 30 saves for Capitals, who padded their lead atop the East and the Metropolitan Division.
Shane Wright and Jordan Eberle scored, and Joey Daccord stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced for the Kraken, who were unable to string together back-to-back wins on the weekend.
Ovechkin and the Capitals will open a three-game California trip Tuesday night at Anaheim. His next goal in March, according to ESPN Research, will be the 158th of his career, which will surpass Gretzky for the most in any calendar month. Gretzky finished his career with 157 tallies in December.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.