Ovechkin gets 600th NHL goal, Capitals top Jets in OT

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 600th NHL goal for the Washington Capitals in a 3-2 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Arena on Monday.
Ovechkin scored twice against the Jets to become the 20th NHL player to reach the milestone. He gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:35 of the first, then scored No. 600 on the rebound of his own shot at 3:53 of the second to make it 2-1.

WATCH: [All Jets vs. Capitals highlights | More coverage of Ovechkin's milestone]
"It's special," Ovechkin said. "Of course, you want to do it more and more. It's 600. Now, you have to score another one to make 601."
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway with 49 seconds left in overtime, and Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves for Washington (39-23-7), which won its second game in a row and moved one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Ovechkin has a League-leading 42 goals, one more than Jets forward Patrik Laine, who scored at 5:02 of the third period to tie the game 2-2 and extend his goal streak to six games (10 goals) and his point streak to 12 (16 goals, six assists).
"When you look at those numbers, you don't even think it's 599, 600," Kuznetsov said. "But then when you understand … that's a lot of goals. I can't score 20 in a year. This is 600. That's huge. That's a special talent for sure."
Nikolaj Ehlers scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves for Winnipeg, which has lost two in a row (0-1-1) following a four-game winning streak. Hellebuyck kept it 2-2 with a pad save on John Carlson at 15:59 of the third period and a save on T.J. Oshie on the rebound at 16:01.
The Jets (41-18-10) trail the Nashville Predators by six points for first place in the Central Division and lead the Minnesota Wild by seven for second.

"Every point is earned," Hellebuyck said. "I liked the way we battled, I liked the way we stayed in it. Obviously, we can learn from this. We didn't get the two points and that's what we need and that's what we want right now."
Ovechkin is the fourth-fastest player to 600 NHL goals (990 games), behind Wayne Gretzky (718), Mario Lemieux (719) and Brett Hull (900).
He is eight from his eighth 50-goal season with 13 games remaining. Only Gretzky and Mike Bossy have more (nine).
"Six-hundred goals is incredible, especially at his age," Jets forward Blake Wheeler said. "It wasn't something we focused on, but I'm sure every guy probably acknowledged sometime on the ice … It's a pretty rare accomplishment, especially nowadays."
After Ovechkin gave the Capitals the lead with his 599th NHL goal, Ehlers tied it 1-1 with an unassisted goal at 5:33 of the first period.

"Obviously when you score big numbers, OK, it's over, you have to move forward," Ovechkin said. "Of course, right now I'm going to enjoy the time, go home and relax and just enjoy it. But tomorrow it's a new day. It's back to work."

Goal of the game

Ovechkin's 600th NHL goal at 3:53 of the second period.

Saves of the game

Hellebuyck stopping Carlson at 15:59 of the third period and Oshie at 16:01.

Highlight of the game

Kuznetsov's goal at 4:11 of overtime.

They said it

"I was in a good spot. Just behind him. I was there when he made history, so I can maybe watch that someday and show that I was there getting the minus on the ice." -- Jets forward Patrik Laine on being on the ice for Alex Ovechkin's 600th NHL goal
"Young [Patrik] Laine, that's one of the things I liked about him. I saw a little quote that said, 'Those are big numbers [Ovechkin's] got. He got them really quick and those are the ones I'm going to try to go get.' I love his mindset. But until he does it, Ovi is the king." -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz

Need to know

Laine's goal was his 77th in the NHL as a teenager, passing Wayne Gretzky and Brian Bellows for third most in League history. He trails Jimmy Carson (92) and Dale Hawerchuk (85). ... Laine's six-game goal streak is tied with Ilya Kovalchuk's from Feb. 8-19, 2009, and Oct. 21-30, 2006, for the second longest in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history. Kovalchuk's seven-game goal streak from Jan. 1-13, 2006, is the longest. ... Jets forward Matt Hendricks left the game at 5:55 of the third period with an undisclosed injury. He will not play against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. … Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (600), points (1,109), power-play goals (225), power-play points (431) and game-winning goals (100) since entering the League in 2005-06.

What's next

Jets: At the Nashville Predators on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-TN, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Capitals: At the New York Islanders on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, MSG+, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)