Ovechkin moved 38 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record, scoring two of the seven in the game’s first 25 minutes. A furious start also included Matt Rempe fighting Dylan McIlrath in his return to the Rangers lineup, electrifying the sellout crowd mixed between home red and visiting blue.

Capitals fans went home happy as their team continued a strong start thanks to Connor McMichael’s fourth goal of the season and the second by Aliaksei Protas, who had a pair of assists for a three-point night. Logan Thompson made 16 saves and Nic Dowd sealed it with an empty-netter with 35.8 seconds left.