Alex Ovechkin scored the 884th goal of his NHL career to move 10 away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record. The Washington Capitals captain beat fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning with four minutes left in the third period on Saturday.

Alex Ovechkin scored the 884th goal of his NHL career late in the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 loss to the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, moving 10 away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin beat fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning with four minutes left in the third period after getting stopped twice by him earlier.

The Capitals lost their third game in a row for the first time all season despite Alex Ovechkin scoring his 884th career goal to move 10 back of tying Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. Before Ovechkin's goal with 3:59 left,

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is closing in on the NHL goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 884 goals and needs 10 to tie and 11 to break the record.

But the Lightning are on a roll of their own, and they continued their best string of hockey this season with a 3-1 win over the Capitals, extending their season-best win streak to eight games.

Analyzing Saturday’s Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals odds and lines, with NHL expert picks, predictions and best bets.

While in the Hall of Fame’s famed Stick Storage Centre, which holds more than 4,000 sticks, the oldest dating to 1875, Ovechkin was fascinated with an old, wooden one with a long flat blade. It belonged to Maurice Richard, who held the NHL goal record with 544 before Howe passed him on Nov. 10, 1963.