At the age of 39 and 21 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has the best goal-scoring pace in the NHL. Ovechkin has 21 goals in 29 games, including six in 11 games since returning from a broken leg that held him out for 40 days.

The 39-year-old winger took a pass from Rasmus Sandin on a 2-on-1 breakaway and fired it past rookie Leevi Merilainen, the record 179th goaltender he's scored on.

1980 — Goaltender Jim Stewart, in his first and only game with the Boston Bruins ... 1989 — LA Kings center Wayne Gretzky becomes NHL’s all-time leading scorer in combined regular season ...

Wayne Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1,487 career NHL games. Alex Ovechkin is poised to shatter that record, having scored 872 times in 1,451 games through Wednesday night. That's a combined 2,938 ...

EDMONTON -- Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist for the Washington Capitals, who won 3-2 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Tuesday. Matt Roy and Tom Wilson also scored, and Logan Thompson made 31 saves for the Capitals (32-10-5), who have won five in a row and earned points in 11 straight games (8-0-3).

Rather than ice a roster merely helping Ovi break Gretzky's record, the Caps have been one of the NHL's best. Here's how they threaded the needle.

Michigan State is no longer the No. 1-ranked NCAA men's hockey team in the country. The Spartans (19-3-2) dropped to No. 2 in the USCHO.com rankings, released on Monday. Boston College (16-4-1) moved ahead of Michigan State with a 3-1 win over Harvard and a series sweep over Providence by scores of 3-0 and 4-1.

Is there a genuine debate about who should back up Linus Ullmark when he's healthy enough to play again? Could the Senators lean on both?

In the hockey world, this is the roadmap of Jon Cooper’s career, a meandering journey that started in his western Canadian hometown and featured stops in places like Green Bay, Wisconsin and Texarkana, Arkansas before culminating in helping to bring a pair of Stanley Cup titles to the Sunshine State (2021, 2022) as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ovechkin did not score in the Capitals' 3–2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. However, he moved within 21 goals of passing Gretzky with No. 874 in his career after scoring the game-winner in overtime against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. The goal was his 21st this season.

The Bruins have called up two forwards. The Oilers' Leon Draisaitl says he guesses the NHL doesn't care about their best players playing, while Corey Perry says every other league protects superstars. This is tough news for the Bruins.