POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 5, Flames 4

Grand Parade - On December 19 in New Jersey, the Caps' dynamic dup of Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin played in its 900th game together against the Devils. Backstrom had a whale of a night in a 6-3 Washington win, scoring two goals and racking up four points.

Tuesday night in Calgary, the duo hit the quadruple-digit level together, playing in their 1,000th game as teammates in a game against the Flames, and becoming just the ninth pair of teammates in League history to achieve the feat. And this time, it was Ovechkin's turn to shine.
After Washington fell behind 2-0 in the second period, the Caps' captain scored the tying goal in the back half of the middle frame, the 765th goal of his NHL career. With the Caps owning a 4-3 lead late in the third, Ovechkin fired goal No. 766 into an empty net to pull into a tie for third place on the NHL's all-time goals ledger. Only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) have scored more goals than Ovechkin.
"It's just another feather in the cap, another special part of the story," says Caps center Nic Dowd, who also scored a big goal in Tuesday's win. "To play a thousand games with the same guy, some of us are just trying to get to 500 alone, and these guys are putting together a thousand together. They're one of the best duos in the world and they have been for a long time. I'm honestly just happy to watch it."
Ovechkin's empty-netter also turned into the game-winner when Calgary scored in the final minute, underlining the importance of those goals into a vacated cage. And in Washington's 5-4 win over the Flames, Backstrom also picked up an assist on Anthony Mantha's goal, pulling to within two points of 1,000 for his NHL career.
Ovechkin also tied Jagr while playing against the Czech winger's last NHL employer, the Flames. Jagr also scored his 766th goal at Saddledome, doing so on Nov. 9, 2017 against Petr Mrazek, then of the Red Wings.
"It's such a cool thing for everyone in this room to be a part of," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson of the Caps' cornerstone duo. "They do a great job at being such humble leaders and including everybody, and it's just a great example. You don't have to look far to see how to be and how to achieve greatness. They're right there leading the way and they're two pretty special guys, and it's just amazing to see what they've done together."
Ovechkin has made a career of making history in the NHL, and this was just the latest example. The closer he got to Jagr's number, the hotter he got. He now has seven goals and 10 points in his last eight games.
"It's kind of fun," says Ovechkin. "The guys are happy. I think the whole organization is pretty happy, the fans, my family. It's a big moment."
Ovechkin tied Jagr in his 1,253rd career NHL game, 480 fewer than Jagr (1,733) needed to reach the same number. Ovechkin narrowly missed another empty-netter in the waning seconds, a goal that would have given him a hat trick and pushed him past Jagr.
"I think he had a post or a crossbar earlier in the game, too," notes Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "It didn't bounce, but it's nice to see him get a couple."
Helping Hands - Nine different Washington skaters recorded at least a point in Tuesday's win over the Flames, led by Nick Jensen's three-assist night, the second of his NHL career. Jensen also had three helpers in a game as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in an Oct. 18, 2017 game at Toronto.
All three of Jensen's assists in Tuesday's game came in the third period of the contest, and they came on Washington's last three goals of the game, from Anthony Mantha, Dowd, and Ovechkin, respectively. The three helpers were recorded in a span of less than 10 minutes and over five shifts; only 9:51 elapsed between the Mantha and Ovechkin goals.
Since joining the Capitals in a trade with the Wings just over three years ago, Jensen has now assisted on three of Ovechkin's goals: the Caps' captain's 700th goal, the goal on which Ovechkin tied for the second most road goals in NHL history, and Tuesday's tally on which he pulled even with Jagr.
Three Dimes Down -For the first time since Nov. 24-28, the Caps have cobbled together a modest three-game winning streak. They've played 58 games this season without winning more than four in a row at any point and without losing more than three straight.
Washington defeated Carolina and Seattle in the final two games of a three-game homestand before dousing the Flames in the opener of a three-game road swing through Western Canada.
"A couple of first place teams, too, so that's really good," says Laviolette. "We talked about the stretch of five games coming up, and we knew Seattle was going to be a tough game, too."
The last two games on the current trip - in Edmonton on Wednesday and Vancouver on Friday - will conclude the five-game stretch to which Laviolette refers.
Down On The Farm - The AHL Hershey Bears hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday night at Giant Center. Behind a 26-save performance in net from Zach Fucale, the Bears roared to a 4-0 win over the visitors.
Following a scoreless first frame, Beck Malenstyn gave Fucale all the support he would require, scoring his sixth goal of the season at 10:21 of the second period. Dylan McIlrath and Riley Sutter picked up assists on the goal.
Brett Leason doubled the Bears' lead with his second of the season at 1:38 of the third, with Malenstyn earning the lone assist. Less than two minutes later, Garrett Pilon made it a 3-0 game with his 15th of the season, from Shane Gersich and Lucas Johansen.
Malenstyn accounted for the 4-0 final with an unassisted strike into an empty net, his second goal and third point of the game. Fucale made half of his 26 stops in the third period, recording his second straight shutout to halt a four-game Hershey slide.
The 27-21-4-3 Bears are back in action on Friday night when they visit the Islanders in Bridgeport.
By The Numbers - Dmitry Orlov led the Caps with 23:01 in ice time … Conor Sheary led the Capitals with five shots on net, and he and Ovechkin led Washington with six shot attempts each … Orlov, Dowd, T.J. Oshie and Garnet Hathaway led the Caps with two hits each … Martin Fehervary and John Carlson blocked two shots each to lead the Caps … Evgeny Kuznetsov won eight of 12 face-offs (67 percent) and Lars Eller won nine of 15 (60 percent).