Ovechkin reaches another milestone with 900th point

Milestones and spectacular moments have become routine for Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin during his 11 NHL seasons.

He did it again Tuesday during a 6-2 victory at the Calgary Flames when he snapped a 1-1 tie 30 seconds into the second period with his fourth goal of the season and 900th NHL point.

"To be honest with you I didn't know I was close [to 900 points]; only one point," Ovechkin said. "I didn't know when I had it. It's a huge milestone. I have to thank my teammates. It's hard to do by yourself in this League. It's a special moment for me and this team. Now we just have to keep going."

He is the first player in Capitals history to reach 900 points and the second-fastest active player to hit the mark by doing so in 764 games; Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers did it in 681 games. He's one of five active players to reach 900 points in fewer than 1,000 games: Jagr, Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks (879), Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks (970), and Jarome Iginla of the Colorado Avalanche (997).

The initial shot taken by Ovechkin on his historic point was mishandled by goaltender Karri Ramo, which allowed Ovechkin to knock in the rebound. Defenseman Brooks Orpik and forward Evgeny Kuznetsov assisted on the goal.

"It's absolutely amazing and impressive," Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said. "His shot, it's amazing. He keeps scoring almost every game, so it's impressive what he's done so far. But he's not done yet."

Ovechkin, 30, has 479 goals and 422 assists.

"It's pretty special," Capitals coach Barry Trotz told Monumental Network. "He is one of those rare players that you get to work with and you get to see on a nightly basis. To get 900 points in this League you've got to be pretty darned good. And he's got a lot of points left in him. To see what he ends up with in final totals when his career is done, it's going to be pretty astounding, I think."

Ovechkin is the fourth Russian-born player with 900 NHL points, joining Sergei Fedorov (1,179), Alexander Mogilny (1,032) and Alex Kovalev (1,029). Ovechkin and Fedorov, who had 954 points with the Detroit Red Wings, are the only Russian-born player to reach the milestone with one franchise.

He needs five goals to pass Fedorov (483) for most NHL goals among Russian-born players.

Ovechkin's 479 goals are the most in the NHL since 2001-02 despite him not starting his NHL career until 2005; Iginla is second with 469 goals. Since entering the League in 2005-06, Ovechkin has 138 goals and 45 points more than any player.

Ovechkin, who also had an assist against the Flames, has scored a goal in all four games he's played this season, marking the second time in his NHL career he has scored a goal in as many games to begin a season (Oct. 1-Oct. 10, 2013).