Ovechkin scores twice to make history in 5-1 Capitals win

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — Alex Ovechkin scored twice and made National Hockey League history in the Washington Capitals’ 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

With that double, Ovechkin now has 403 away goals, which puts him ahead of Wayne Gretzky for first in league history in that category.

Ovechkin scored his historic goal at 11:52 of the first period on a one-timer. It was his 13th goal of the season.

Ovechkin had broken the 0-0 tie at 5:35 of the initial period. It was the 135th time in his career that he scored the first goal in a match, equaling the record that belonged to Jaromir Jagr.

Anthony Mantha played his part in this Capitals victory (10-11-3) with a goal and an assist. John Carlson and Martin Fehervary completed.

Nils Hoglander got the lone goal for the Canucks (9-11-3) who saw their winning streak snapped to three.

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper blocked 31 pucks in the nets for the Capitals. At the other end, Spencer Martin made 23 saves.

Ovechkin came close to scoring a hat trick when Martin was replaced by an additional skater with just over six minutes left in regulation time. However, his powerful shot grazed the outside of the post.

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