At the age of 29, Alex Ovechkin still has a lot of time left in his career, but he’s already one of the all-time greats when it comes to game-winning goals. He moved into a tie with Marcel Dionne and Mario Lemieux by notching the 74th winner of his career in a 2-1 victory over Colorado.
It was Ovechkin’s fifth winning marker of the season, which puts him one behind defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. His goal came with the man advantage late in the second period to break a 1-1 tie:
That spoiled what was largely a good night for Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov as he turned aside 36 of 38 shots. Meanwhile, Braden Holtby saved 31 of 32 shots to limit the competition to just a goal for the second straight contest.
Washington got off to a shaky 11-10-4 start this season, but they’ve gone 12-1-4 recently. That’s pushed the Capitals into what is shaping up to be a tight battle for the Metropolitan Division title. Just three points separate the Capitals and division-leading Islanders with 40 games remaining on each team’s schedule.
