Ovechkin scores twice, gets No. 730 for Capitals in win against Flyers

PHILADELPHIA --Alex Ovechkin scored two goals to give him 730 in the NHL, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

The forward is one goal from tying Marcel Dionne for fifth in NHL history.
Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and two assists, and John Carlson had his first four-point game in the NHL with four assists for Washington (29-12-4). Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves.
"I thought we played a strong game," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "It was really good from the start. I thought everyone seemed to be on point. We were skating harder and competing much better and [had] sharper execution."
Wade Allison scored his first NHL goal for Philadelphia (20-18-6). Alex Lyon made 35 saves in his first start of the season.
"We put Alex in a real tough spot," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We didn't play real well in front of him. Obviously, they're a good team and they're capable of making a lot of plays, but we spent far too much time in our zone defending."
The Capitals lead the New York Islanders by four points for first in the MassMutual East Division. The Flyers are sixth, eight points behind the fourth-place Boston Bruins. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 3:38 of the first period with a one-timer from the left circle on the power play and put Washington ahead 3-2 with the man-advantage at 6:15 of the second.
He is second in NHL history with 269 power-play goals, five behind Dave Andreychuk.
"I think he is getting some more looks, and that just comes down to helping each other, supporting," Carlson said of Ovechkin, who was not made available to the media. "I think our support has been a lot better, a lot more plays open and options for guys to move the puck around quickly."
The Capitals were 2-for-5 on the power play and are 13-for-36 (36.1 percent) in their past 11 games.
"We all know the importance of it," Carlson said. "At the end of the day, that's what means the most, and it seemed to carry us here through the last 10 or 12 games or so and we have to keep it clicking like it has been."
Ivan Provorov tied it 1-1 at 19:59 of the first, one-timing a pass from Claude Giroux for his 50th NHL goal.
Dmitry Orlov gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead 33 seconds into the second period.
"Scoring at the end of a period, in the last minute especially ... usually gives your team a boost, a push, and to the contrary they had the push," Vigneault said. "They controlled most of the second period there. We were second on everything, second on pucks, second on making plays, and they were the far better team tonight."

James van Riemsdyk tied it 2-2 at 5:28 of the second with his first goal in 18 games.
After Ovechkin's second goal, Kuznetsov made it 4-2 at 15:02 off a backhand pass off the wall into the slot from Tom Wilson.
Allison scored on the power play to make it 4-3 at 7:02 of the third period. The 23-year-old forward was playing his second NHL game.
The Capitals took a 5-3 lead at 9:15 when Conor Sheary redirected a shot from Justin Schultz.
"This year just consistencywise, as far as building off things, we've seemed out of sync I feel like a lot of times," van Riemsdyk said. "I don't have any real answers as to why."
Anthony Mantha scored an empty-net goal to make it 6-3 at 18:48. He has scored in three straight games since he was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
"I think for the most part, up and down through the lineup, everyone played a pretty hard game today, and you could see it by our puck possession, by our shots on net, and by the goals on the board," Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said.
NOTES: Ovechkin had an assist on Orlov's goal to give him 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in six games against Philadelphia this season. He had no points in four games against them last season. … Carlson has seven assists during a three-game point streak. .... ... Orlov has scored four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Giroux had two assists to give him 848 points in the NHL, one behind Brian Propp for third in Flyers history. Bobby Clarke is first with 1,210. ... Lyon made his first NHL start since Feb. 1, 2020. ... Philadelphia goalie Carter Hart did not play after aggravating a lower-body injury sustained during a 2-1 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Vigneault did not say if Hart would be available against the New York Islanders on Sunday.