OVECHKIN BECOMES 20TH PLAYER TO SCORE 600 CAREER NHL GOALS

Alex Ovechkin scored his 41st and 42nd goals of the season to become the 20th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal milestone, doing so in his 990th career game (600-509—1,109). Only three players achieved the feat in fewer contests: Wayne Gretzky (718), Mario Lemieux (719) and Brett Hull (900). Click here for an in-depth look at his milestone.

* Ovechkin, who scored against Connor Hellebuyck for the first time (2 G in 4 GP), boosted his career totals against the Jets/Thrashers franchise to 47-44—91 in 63 GP – his highest goal and point totals against any club.

* The Capitals’ franchise leader in goals, games played, points, power-play goals (225), game-winning goals (100) and overtime goals (22), Ovechkin recorded the 119th multi-goal game of his NHL career – 39 more than the next-closest player since he entered the League in 2005-06 (Sidney Crosby: 80).

* Ovechkin’s 119 career multi-goal performances share 16th place on the League’s all-time list. Gretzky holds the record with 189.

* Ovechkin, who ranks fifth in NHL history with 0.61 goals per game (min. 300 GP), moved within one goal of tying Jari Kurri (601) for 19th place on the League’s all-time list. At a rate of 0.60 goals per game, Ovechkin would need 490 more games – just under six full seasons – to equal Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals and approximately 334 more games – a little more than four seasons – to join Gretzky and Gordie Howe (801) as the only players in League history to score 800 goals.

* NHL Network will premiere a new one-on-one interview with Ovechkin and Kevin Weekes on Wednesday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Taped in January, Ovechkin discusses reaching the 600-goal mark, approaching 1,000 career games, his early hockey influences, and his charitable work off the ice in the 30-minute special. Click here to watch an excerpt from the interview.

LAINE EXTENDS STREAKS WITH GOAL, CONTINUES HISTORIC PACE

Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine, who grew up idolizing Alex Ovechkin, scored his 41st goal of 2017-18 to extend his point streak to 12 contests (16-6—22), establishing a new franchise record. The previous benchmark of 11 consecutive games with a point was shared by Marian Hossa (2006-07 w/ ATL) and Blake Wheeler (2015-16 w/ WPG).

* Laine, who found the net for the sixth consecutive contest, became just the second different player in Jets/Thrashers franchise history to record a goal streak of at least six contests. Ilya Kovalchukachieved the feat three times with the Thrashers, including a seven-game run in 2005-06.

* Laine – who has compiled the third-most goals by any teenager in NHL history – has scored in each of Winnipeg’s games in March, netting 10 goals in only six games. There are only three different players in Jets/Thrashers history to score more goals in an entire calendar month.

FLEURY JOINS ELITE CLUB WITH 400TH CAREER WIN
Marc-Andre Fleury made 38 saves to become the 13th goaltender in NHL history to record 400 career wins and lead the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (45-19-5, 95 points) to their third straight win.

* Fleury, who improved to 25-9-3 in 2017-18 (2.15 GAA, .930 SV%, 3 SO), became the third active goaltender to reach the 400-win milestone, joining Roberto Luongo (467) and Henrik Lundqvist (430).

* William Karlsson scored his team-leading 36th goal of the season, tied for fifth in the NHL. He sits four goals shy of becoming the eighth player to score at least 40 goals for a team in its inaugural season.

JONES JOINS SHORT LIST WITH ANOTHER GAME-WINNING GOAL

Seth Jones registered the winning goal for the third straight game to guide the Blue Jackets to their fifth consecutive win overall and sixth straight win at Nationwide Arena. At 37-28-5 (79 points), Columbus leapfrogged idle New Jersey (35-26-8, 78 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Jones became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record the game-winning goal in three consecutive team games. Only one other Blue Jackets player has netted the winning goal in three straight team games: Artem Anisimov from March 1-4, 2014 (also 3 GWG).

* Jones scored at least one goal for the third straight contest to boost his season totals to 14-34—48 and move into a tie with teammate Zach Werenski (14-18—32) for the team lead. They are the only blueliners in franchise history to score more than 13 goals in single season and trail only Nashville’s P.K Subban (15-35—50) and Calgary’s Dougie Hamilton (15-25—40) for the goal-scoring lead among NHL defensemen.

WESTERN CONFERENCE CLUBS KEEP PACE IN PLAYOFF PUSH
The Sharks (37-23-9, 83 points), Kings (38-26-5, 81 points) and Blues (37-27-5, 79 points) all skated to victories to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff push:

* Sharks captain Joe Pavelski (0-2—2) was one of four players with two points as San Jose concluded its six-game homestand with a 4-2-0 record. The Sharks maintained second place in the Pacific Division, where seeds 2-5 are separated by just five points.

* Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick posted a 35-save shutout to help Los Angeles improve to 5-2-0 over its last seven contests. The Kings moved past the Ducks (34-24-12, 80 points) into third place in the Pacific Division.

* Fresh off a seven-goal outing, the Blues netted four goals on Monday to snap Anaheim's nine-game home point streak (7-0-2) and move within one point of the idle Avalanche (36-24-8, 80 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the conference.

QUICK CLICKS

· Laine, Marchand, Malkin named Three Stars of the Week

· Wayne Gretzky wants to see Alex Ovechkin win Stanley Cup

· Ovechkin's parents congratulate son for scoring 600th NHL goal

· Ovechkin's wife jumps for joy to celebrate his 600th goal

· Ovechkin draws praise from fellow NHL players for 600 goals

· Coyotes’ Rick Tocchet taking leave absence to deal with family illness

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION

NBC Sports Channel Finder | Sportsnet Channel Finder | NHL Network Channel Finder

CENTRAL DIVISION’S BEST FACE OFF IN NASHVILLE

The top two teams in the Central Division will go head-to-head when the Western Conference-leading Predators (44-14-10, 98 points) host the Jets (41-18-10, 92 points) at Bridgestone Arena. Both teams are on impressive runs of late, with Nashville entering the game with a 9-0-1 record in its last 10 outings and Winnipeg sporting a 6-3-1 mark over its past 10 games.

* This marks the fourth of five meetings between the teams this season, with Nashville holding a 2-1-0 edge to date (WPG: 1-2-0). In the previous three games, the teams have combined for 29 goals for an average of 9.67 goals/game. The final meeting between the clubs will be held on Sunday, March 25 in Winnipeg.

* With a win, the Predators would become the second team this season to reach 100 points, joining the Lightning (48-17-4, 100 points). Nashville has hit the 100-point mark on five previous occasions, including a franchise record 110 points in 2006-07.

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department