Ovechkin scores a seat in an exclusive club

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WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored twice to reach 600 goals and Evgeny Kuznetsov had the overtime winner as the Washington Capitals returned to first place by beating the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Monday.

Ovechkin scored in each of the first two periods to get to 42 this season. The Russian winger became the 20th player and fourth-fastest in NHL history to 600 goals and is on pace to lead the league in goals for the seventh time.

Kuznetsov made it a night of celebration for Washington by scoring on a breakaway 4:11 into overtime.

Ovechkin's historic performance was crucial on a night when Jets winger Patrik Laine scored his 16th in the past 12 games to get to 41 this season. Nikolaj Ehlers also scored a 4-on-4 goal for Winnipeg, which got 40 saves from Connor Hellebuyck.

Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots in his third consecutive start (see full recap).

Jones, Blue Jackets continue to surge
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Seth Jones scored two first-period power-play goals, and the Columbus Blue Jackets won their fifth straight, 5-2 over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.

Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Ian Cole also scored, Alexander Wennberg had three assists and Artemi Panarin recorded two assists for Columbus.

Behind a run of eight wins in 11 games overall and a season-high six straight at home -- including a just-completed four-game homestand -- the Blue Jackets moved past idle New Jersey into the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Columbus also edged within two points of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division.

Down 4-2 until late, Montreal put Sergei Bobrovsky to the test in the third period. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped all 24 shots the suddenly energetic Canadiens threw his way. He had 38 saves overall (see full recap).

Vesey, Zuccarello help Rangers down Hurricanes
NEW YORK -- Jimmy Vesey scored three times, Mats Zuccarello had two goals and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Monday night.

Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Rangers, who ended a three-game losing streak and earned their first home win since Feb. 9. Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad each had three assists.

Backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves for his second win of the season.

Teuvo Teravainen, Lee Stempniak and Victor Rask scored for the Hurricanes. Scott Darling, who has struggled in his first season with Carolina, made 17 stops.

Tied at 3 in the third, Vesey took a loose puck at the left faceoff circle and wristed a high shot past Darling at 12:15.

Zuccarello added an empty-netter at 17:23 for his 14th of the season and Vesey capped his hat trick with an empty-netter in the final minute for his 15th goal this season (see full recap).

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