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| - Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin became only the eighth player in NHL history to reach 700 career goals on Saturday by striking in the third-period against the New Jersey Devils. The 34-year-old Russian left winger reached the milestone 4:50 into the third period by blasting a slapshot into the net from the faceoff circle. The goal, which levelled the scores at 2-2, prompted Ovechkin to lift his arms into the air and turn to his team bench with a smile to begin a celebration. Fans at the Newark, New Jersey, arena gave Ovechkin a standing ovation for the achievement. Capitals captain Ovechkin has joined an exclusive 700-goal club that includes the all-time record holder Wayne Gretzky with 894 goals and second-place Gordie Howe on 801 followed by Jaromir Jagr (766), Brett Hull (741), Marcel Dionne (731), Phil Esposito (717) and Mike Gartner (708). Ovechkin managed the feat in 1,144 games, the second-fastest player to crack 700 after Gretzky, who did it in only 886 games. He is the second-youngest to reach 700 NHL goals after Gretzky, who did it at age 29. Ovechkin, who led Washington to the 2018 Stanley Cup title, became the fastest NHL player to advance from 600 to 700 career goals, doing so in only 154 games. The goal was Ovechkin's 42nd of the campaign, which put him one shy of season co-leaders Auston Matthews of Toronto and David Pastrnak of Boston. It was Ovechkin's fifth goal against the Devils this season. Ovechkin, an eight-time NHL goals champion, had scored only once in Washington's past six games after netting 14 goals in the previous seven contests. He broke a season-longest five-game goal drought with the 699th of his career and 41st of the season on Thursday in a 4-3 home overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. js/td
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