Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin edged closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky's National Hockey League all-time goals record of 894 on Tuesday, bagging the 891st goal of his career in a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.
The 39-year-old Russian tucked away a pass from Dylan Strome with four minutes remaining in the first period at Boston's TD Garden to leave him within touching distance of surpassing Canadian great Gretzky.
Ovechkin has now scored 12 times in his last 18 appearances and is on pace to beat Gretzky's record in the final eight regular season games of the season.
Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's record has energized Washington this season as the Russian veteran closes in on a record once widely considered unbeatable.
Ovechkin, who missed 16 games with a broken leg suffered in an in-game collision in November, has 38 goals in 58 games.
rcw/tgb/
