Ovechkin scores No. 767 to pass Jagr, Capitals defeat Islanders

WASHINGTON-- Alex Ovechkin scored his 767th NHL goal to pass Jaromir Jagr for third in history, helping the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 shootout win against the New York Islanders at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 15:02 of the third period when he scored against former teammate Semyon Varlamov on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle off a face-off win by Evgeny Kuznetsov.
"I just close my eyes and shoot. I [had] pretty good chances previous games," Ovechkin said. "Finally, 'Kuzy' wins a good face-off right on my stick. To score on a very good friend, 'Varly,' it's nice too."
Anders Lee tied it 3-3 with 1:59 remaining on a rebound from the slot, his eighth goal during a five-game goal streak.
"It was a good response," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "Obviously the place was going crazy for 'Ovi.' There's a lot of energy in the building and we found a way to just concentrate on the task at hand, which is what you want your team to do."

Washington won an eight-round shootout; T.J. Oshie and Anthony Mantha scored.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored his first NHL goal for the Capitals (33-18-10), who have won five in a six-game point streak. Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves.
"I thought every minute we played in the game we put more of our best foot forward," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought overtime was the best. Third period was good enough to get us back into the game and get us the lead. It was unfortunate it closed out with them pulling the empty net and scoring, but in the overtime the guys continued to push."
Kyle Palmieri scored in the second period and in the shootout for the Islanders (24-24-9), who have a point in five of their past six (4-1-1). Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves.
"We're competing, we're in every game. Top to bottom I think we've all played pretty solid hockey from the goalies on out," Lee said. "We're just trying to continue to put these good games together. When you start getting results and feeling good about yourself and your team game, then things start to come a little bit easier."

Jonsson-Fjallby tied it 2-2 at 10:13 of the third period off a pass from Dmitry Orlov on a 2-on-1.
Mantha gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 12:21 of the first period, poking the rebound of Kuznetsov's shot between Varlamov's pads.
Brock Nelson tied it 1-1 at 4:55 of the second period when he scored from the right circle after Zdeno Chara's shot deflected off Orlov's skate. Washington's challenge for goaltender interference on Lee was unsuccessful.
Nelson nearly gave New York the lead, but his shot caromed off each post.
"That would have been huge," he said. "I thought it went in. I lost sight of it behind his leg. Part of the game is weird, funny bounces. I definitely would have liked to have had that one go in."

Washington appeared to take the lead on Justin Schultz's sharp-angle shot at 14:06, but New York successfully challenged for offside and the clock was reset to 6:08 remaining.
Palmieri gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with 2:58 left. Josh Bailey deked around defenseman John Carlson in the left circle, skated toward the net and passed to Palmieri at the right post for a tap in.
Ovechkin, who has scored 37 goals this season, trails Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) in NHL history.
"He's got a lot of game left in him," Laviolette said of the 36-year-old. "He's got a lot of time, a lot of game. He is in great shape, he's strong. He continues to fire the puck and he continues to produce."
NOTES: Varlamov played three seasons for the Capitals (2008-11). ... Palmieri has scored nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games. ... Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (six points; one goal, five assists) and nine of 10 (11 points; three goals, eight assists). ... Kuznetsov extended his point streak to six games (nine points; four goals, five assists). ... New York was 0-for-1 on the power play, and Washington has killed 31 of 34 dating to Feb. 13 (12 games).