SEATTLE (AP) — Alex Ovechkin moved within 20 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with an empty-netter, helping the Washington Capitals beat the Seattle Kraken 3-0 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.
Ovechkin scored his 22nd goal of the season to push his career total to 875. Gretzky scored 894 goals in the NHL.
Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves in his first start since Jan. 10 for his first shutout of the season — and the NHL-leading Capitals' third in five games after Logan Thompson blanked Anaheim and Ottawa in consecutive games last week.
Aliaksei Protas and Ethen Frank also scored.
Joey Daccord made 30 saves for Seattle in his fifth straight start and 100th NHL game.
Capitals: Trevor van Riemsdyk and Jakob Chychrun assisted on Ovechkin’s empty-net goal with 3:28 left. ... Pierre-Luc Dubois extended his point streak to three games with an assist.
Kraken: Seattle has been shut out six times this season.
With 16 seconds remaining in the second period, Lindgren stopped Oliver Bjorkstrand on a breakaway.
Both teams are back in action Saturday. The Capitals are at Vancouver, and the Kraken host Pittsburgh.
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