WASHINGTON (AP) Everyone around Alex Ovechkin had a hunch

WASHINGTON (AP) Everyone around Alex Ovechkin had a hunch this was his night.His wife Authentic Oscar Lindberg Jersey , Nastya, had flown back from Moscow just in time. Coach Barry Trotz noticed Ovechkin was unusually quiet.By the time he scored the 599th goal of his career, Ovechkin sensed it, too. Less than four minutes into the second period of the Washington Capitals‘ game against the Winnipeg Jets, Ovechkin put back a rebound and skated into the spotlight as the latest member of the NHL’s 600-goal club.The Russian superstar scored twice to reach the milestone in typical Ovechkin fashion, becoming the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to 600 behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull.”When I score 599, I felt like, `OK I still have to make a push two periods,”’ Ovechkin said. ”Finally, I scored.”Ovechkin’s rebound goal past Connor Hellebuyck 3:53 into the second period was his 42nd of the season as he tries to hit 50 for the eighth time. His first goal 4:35 into the first period came on a 5-on-3 power play as the Russian winger looked determined to reach 600 after several games on the doorstep.”He knew he was going to get it done today,” Trotz said after the Capitals’ 3-2 overtime victory . ”The great thing about Ovi is when he puts something to it in his mind, he was going to get it done.”Capitals fans who have watched Ovechkin shine as the most productive goal scorer of the past decade-plus gave him a standing ovation for almost a minute after he reached the mark. Chants of ”Ovi! Ovi!” continued as he waved from the bench in the moments after and during a video montage at the next timeout.After scoring 33 goals in 2016-17, his second-lowest total in a non-lockout-shortened season, the 32-year-old Ovechkin’s resurgence made his climb to 600 all the more impressive. No player 32 or older has led the NHL in goals since Phil Esposito in 1974-75.”He’s the best goal scorer probably of my time, definitely Reilly Smith Jersey , and a generation,” said linemate Tom Wilson, who had the primary assist on Ovechkin’s 600th. ”It’s on us if we don’t get him the puck. It’s a little bit of pressure, definitely, but you just go out there and play your game and it was one of those things that was just going to happen. He’s too good not to hit that milestone.”Greeting Ovechkin the locker room, owner Ted Leonsis took the moment to express his gratitude for 600 goals over the past 13 seasons.”I told him I loved him and respected him and was very grateful and appreciated everything he’s done for the fans and for our team and looking forward to the next 100 goals,” Leonsis said. ”We should never take Alex for granted. It’s really remarkable what he’s accomplished.”Ovechkin recaptured sole possession of the NHL lead against Jets winger Patrik Laine, who scored his 41st of the season to attempt to keep pace with his idol. Even while hoping Ovechkin wouldn’t score No. 600 against Winnipeg, Laine can’t help but appreciate the scoring pace.”That’s pretty amazing to reach that,” Laine said Monday morning. ”Six-hundred goals in under 1,000 games, it’s pretty unreal.”Two former Capitals teammates, Matt Hendricks and Mathieu Perreault, were watching from the Jets’ side when Ovechkin reached his latest round number in a career full of accomplishments.”When I played here, it’s funny, you always want to get the puck on his stick Michael Ferland Jersey Womens ,” said Hendricks, who was in the penalty box for Ovechkin’s first goal. ”He has that ability to change games just like that. … Ovi’s a terrific talent.”Perreault, who played with 684-goal scorer Teemu Selanne in Anaheim, said Ovechkin reaching 600 so quickly was indescribable.”The way he can shoot the puck and score goals is beyond what you can even think about,” Perreault said. ”I can tell my grandkids, my kids, I played with Ovechkin. He’s going to be a legend of the game.”Ovechkin has been an impressive scorer for a long time, but had to adapt his game several years ago when opponents figured out how to stop some of his usual moves. Barry Trotz taking over as Capitals coach helped Ovechkin round out his overall game and avoid the kind of lull that goal-scorers typically hit when they turn 30.”It’s very, very unique and unusual for a player of Alex’s vintage to be staring 50 goals in the face,” Leonsis said.The growth in Ovechkin’s game isn’t lost on players and coaches around the league who have watched his career.”When he came in (he was) a hitter almost – a shooter and a hitter,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. ”He was a very physical player, covered an awful lot of ice during the games. And he’s matured into kind of picking his spots, he’s still a hard guy to play against, physically very, very strong.”But he uses the people around him better, maybe. And that’s true of all players. But his game has really changed. He’s really grown and matured.”— PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray tries to keep it simple. Show up for work. Try to improve a little bit each day. Don’t get too high or too low.Yes William Karlsson Jersey , it’s boring. It’s also highly effective for a player who has regained his confidence and swagger just in time to re-establish his team as one of the league’s best.Murray stopped 36 shots in a 5-1 victory over Florida on Tuesday night to improve to 8-0 since returning from a lower-body injury. Shaky and uncertain in October and November, the 24-year-old has responded with the arguably the best stretch of his career, heady territory considering he already has a pair of Stanley Cup rings.Murray has a 1.24 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage during the unbeaten run that began on Dec. 15. While occasionally sloppy play by his teammates kept Murray plenty busy against the Panthers, he hardly appeared bothered while pushing the Penguins to their ninth win in their last 10 games.“It’d be nice to have a few more games where you don’t give them that many grade-A chances where guys are in all alone and forcing him to make the saves he had to make consistently,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who picked up his 20th goal of the season. “But it was one of those games he played great again.”It was a level of play Murray lacked during the opening two months. He was 4-5-1 with a 4.08 goals against in his first 11 appearances before a lingering lower-body injury sent him to injured reserve in mid-November. Casey DeSmith played solidly in Murray’s place and the Penguins didn’t exactly rush Murray back into net once he was medically cleared.Yet any notion of a goaltending controversy has evaporated. Murray has reasserted himself as the starter. While the Panthers controlled play for long stretches, Murray kept them at bay to keep Florida winless in its last seven trips to Pittsburgh.“Give their goalie credit, he played really well,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. “Ours didn’t.”Florida’s Roberto Luongo surrendered goals to Tanner Pearson and Bryan Rust in the first game’s first 3:03 was pulled after giving up four goals over the first 29 minutes, including short-handed scores by Rust and Riley Sheahan in the second that pushed Pittsburgh’s advantage to 4-0. Luongo finished with 12 saves on 16 shots before being removed in favor of James Reimer.Aaron Ekblad’s goal late in the second period gave him 62 in his career — the most ever by a Florida defenseman — but the Panthers never recovered from the early deficit.“Obviously, we try to prepare as best as we possibly can,” Ekblad said. “It’s on us as the leadership group to get the room ready, have the room prepared to play each night. We haven’t done that. It’s been guys, including myself, in the leadership group that haven’t got the job done early in games.”The Penguins saw their season-high eight-game winning streak end Sunday night against Chicago but wasted little time getting back on track.Pearson took a slick pass off the boards by Marcus Pettersson and raced down the right side before slipping the puck between Luongo’s legs 1:29 into the game. Rust doubled the lead 94 seconds later, collecting a feed from Jake Guentzel in front of Luongo and deking by the goaltender before tumbling into the net.The Panthers pressed in an effort to draw even but Murray kept Pittsburgh’s lead intact Alex Ovechkin Jersey Kids , including a stop on a short-handed breakaway by Colton Sceviour near the end of a busy first period in which Murray faced 15 shots.“If a team gets chances on our power play it’s usually a turnover, 2-on-1, something like that, so it happens. You’ve got to be ready for that,” Murray said.While Pittsburgh’s electric power play looked listless, the penalty killers made up for it. Matt Cullen and Rust broke in 2-on-2, a sequence that ended with Cullen hitting Rust in front of the net and Rust beating Luongo to make it 3-0 just 3:04 into the second. Sheahan pushed it to 4-0 less than six minutes later when he stripped the puck from Florida’s Keith Yandle, skated high into the Florida zone and whipped a wrist shot from the slot over Luongo’s glove for Pittsburgh’s 10th short-handed goal of the season.“I think we’re trying to skate a little bit more, trying to be a little bit more aggressive up ice,” Rust said. “And I guess (the goals) are just a product of that.”NOTES: The last time the Penguins had multiple short-handed goals in a game was on March 29, 2016 against Buffalo. … Florida fell to 9-11-2 on the road. … Pittsburgh F Patric Hornqvist left in the first period and did not return after getting hit with a puck. … Crosby has 20 goals in 12 seasons, tying a franchise record set held by team owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. … Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play.UP NEXTPanthers: Continue a five-game road swing on Thursday in Edmonton.Penguins: Begin a five-game West Coast trip on Friday in Anaheim.