OVECHKIN MOVES PAST ANOTHER NHL LEGEND ON ALL-TIME GOALS LIST

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (1-1—2) scored the 693rd regular-season goal of his NHL career (693-570—1,263 in 1,134 GP) to pass Steve Yzerman (692) for sole possession of ninth place on the League’s all-time list. Ovechkin is now one goal shy of matching another Hockey Hall of Famer, Mark Messier (694), for the eighth-most in NHL history.

* Ovechkin (35-17—52 in 50 GP), who has scored nine goals over his last four games dating to Jan. 13 (9-1—10), moved within two of Bruins forward David Pastrnak (37-33—70 in 51 GP) who leads all players in the 2019-20 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race.

* Entering play Jan. 13, Ovechkin (26-16—42 in 46 GP) was nine goals back of Pastrnak (35-30—65 in 46 GP) while also trailing Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (31-23—54 in 46 GP), Sabres captain Jack Eichel (27-32—59 in 45 GP) and Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (27-39—66 in 45 GP).

* The NHL Stats & Information team will be tracking Ovechkin’s pursuit of 700 goals with a “By the Numbers” document each time he passes someone on the all-time list, with the third now available.

YZERMAN CONGRATULATES OVECHKIN
Steve Yzermancongratulated Alex Ovechkin for passing him on the League’s regular-season goals list – while also alluding to the Capitals captain breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 down the road.

* Ovechkin and Yzerman played in one head-to-head matchup, which occurred on Dec. 9, 2005. Ovechkin, a 20-year-old rookie, collected 1-1—2 while Yzerman, competing in the final campaign of his 22-season NHL career, was held off the score sheet.

* Ovechkin’s goal versus the Red Wings on Dec. 9, 2005 was the 18th of his NHL career and, at the time, was 664 back of Yzerman (682) on the all-time regular-season list.

CANUCKS, FLAMES TRIUMPH OVER INTRADIVISION RIVALS
The Canucks (29-18-4, 62 points) and Flames (27-19-6, 60 points) triumphed over intradivision rivals to strengthen their grip on the top two spots in the tightly-contested Pacific Division standings, where positions Nos. 1-5 are separated by five points.

* Quinn Hughes (1-1—2), Tanner Pearson (1-1—2) and J.T. Miller (0-2—2) each collected two points as Vancouver defeated San Jose to extend its win streak to four games. The Canucks occupy first in the Pacific Division – maintaining a two-point edge over the second-place Flames – as they look to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015.

* Edmonton overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but Sean Monahan scored the decisive goal in the shootout as Calgary improved to 3-0-0 through the first three Battle of Alberta installments in 2019-20 (EDM: 0-2-1). The Flames, who moved two points ahead of the Oilers (26-18-6, 58 points), earned a win over Edmonton after they surrendered three or more game-tying goals for the third time in franchise history following April 20, 1984 (5-4 OT W) and Dec. 31, 2005 (6-5 W).

MATTHEWS MAINTAINS EDGE ON OVECHKIN IN “ROCKET” RACE
Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (1-1—2) scored his 36th goal of the season (36-24—60 in 51 GP) to move within one of the League lead and four of matching his single-season career high, a mark set as a rookie in 2016-17 (40-29—69 in 82 GP).

* Toronto, which has scored four-plus goals in each of its last eight road games, lead the League with 100 tallies as visitors overall this season (including one-shootout deciding goal). The Maple Leafs have concluded a campaign leading all teams in road goals only once in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68), doing so in 1998-99 (133).

KINGS, LIGHTNING HONOR LATE NBA LEGEND KOBE BRYANT AT STAPLES CENTER
The Kings and Lightning honored the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other victims of Sunday’s tragedy at STAPLES Center in the hosts’ first game since the accident.



* Bryant, who made his NBA debut in 1996-97, spent his entire 20-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers – including 17 where he contested home games at STAPLES Center, nicknamed by fans as “The House that Kobe Built”. The two iconic numbers he wore throughout his career that hang in the rafters – No. 8 and No. 24 – were donned by Kings players pre-game.



POILE TIES SATHER FOR MOST COMBINED WINS BY AN NHL GENERAL MANAGER
Nashville’s David Poile earned his 1,506th career win including the Stanley Cup Playoffs (1,403 regular season, 103 playoffs) and tied Glen Sather (1,319 regular season, 187 playoffs) for the highest combined total by a general manager in NHL history.

* Poile, the Predators’ only general manager in franchise history, recorded 646 of his career wins with the Capitals from Aug. 30, 1982 – June 9, 1997 (594 regular season, 52 playoffs). He earned his 1,320th career regular-season win on March 1, 2018 to pass Sather (1,319) for the most by a general manager in League history.

Jim Schoenfeld (left), Sather (middle) and Poile (right) share a laugh at the 2011 NHL Draft

QUICK CLICKS

* Andrei Vasilevskiy improves to 12-0-2 in last 14 appearances
* Alex Ovechkin wears No. 24 Capitals jersey to honor Kobe Bryant
* Tristan Jarry reaching potential for Penguins following AHL demotion
* John Hynes to face Devils with Predators for first time since firing
* Zack Kassian signs four-year contract with Oilers

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