Ovechkin’s 900th goal came 2:39 into the second period, when he grabbed Jakob Chychrun’s rebound off the boards and backhanded it past Jordan Binnington.
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The 40-year-old is the only player in NHL history to reach that milestone, and the bench cleared to commemorate his achievement as Binnington attempted to hide the milestone puck by stuffing it in his pants. Line judge Michel Cormier recovered the puck.
Anthony Beauvillier and Tom Wilson each scored twice, John Carlson also scored and Jakob Chychrun had three assists for Washington, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
Alexey Toropchenko scored the only goal for the Blues, who have lost eight of their last nine games.
Wilson opened the scoring for the Capitals midway through the first, taking advantage of Carlson’s shot to ignite Washington’s struggling power play, which had gone four games without a power play goal.
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Ovechkin’s historic goal started a scoring frenzy in the second half. Nearly two minutes after the 900th, Beauvillier scored on a backhand and Carlson beat Binnington five minutes later to end the goalie’s night after allowing four goals on 15 shots.
Joel Hofer relieved Binnington, but did not come out of the second unscathed, as Beauvillier scored his second of the night to make it 5-0.
Toropchenko scored a shorthanded goal 37 seconds into the third. Wilson scored his second of the night in the 9th minute to restore the five-goal lead.
Logan Thompson had 23 saves and has now allowed two or fewer goals in each of his nine starts this year.
Next
Blues: Visit Buffalo on Thursday.
Capitals: Begin a four-game road trip in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl