Facts and Figures: Ovechkin close to ninth 50-goal season for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is two goals from becoming the third NHL player with nine seasons of at least 50.

Ovechkin tied for the NHL lead when he scored No. 48 for the Washington Capitals in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday. He's even with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy.

Goal No. 50 will tie Ovechkin with Hockey Hall of Famers Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the
most 50-goal seasons in NHL history
. It would also give him 708 in his NHL career, tying him with Hall of Fame member Mike Gartner
for seventh
.

Golden Knights extend Pacific lead on Theodore's OT goal

Shea Theodore scored his second game-winning goal in as many days to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. The victory moved the Golden Knights (39-24-8) three points ahead of the second-place Oilers (37-24-9) in the Pacific Division.
Theodore, who scored the game-winner at 18:50 of the third period against the Calgary Flames on Sunday, is the 11th defenseman since 1998-99 with a game-winning goal in consecutive days. He's the second this season after John Carlson of the Capitals from Dec. 3-4.

Jets, Panthers boost playoff hopes

The Winnipeg Jets (36-28-6) own the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference after rallying to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 at Bell MTS Place. It's the sixth straight home win for the Jets, one shy of the Philadelphia Flyers for the longest active run in the NHL.

The victory moved the Jets ahead of three teams: the Minnesota Wild (35-27-7), Vancouver Canucks (35-27-6) and Nashville Predators (34-26-8).
The Florida Panthers (35-26-8) trailed 1-0 before defeating the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues 2-1 at Enterprise Center to move within one point of the Toronto Maple Leafs (35-25-9) for third in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers and Maple Leafs, who have combined for 28 goals through their first three games this season, play for the final time at Scotiabank Arena on March 23.

Florida is also one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes (37-25-5) and New York Islanders (35-23-9) for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

Anderson's first NHL goal helps Kings win sixth straight

The Los Angeles Kings extended their winning streak to six games by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 at Staples Center. Mikey Anderson's first NHL goal stood as the game-winner for the Kings, whose winning streak is their longest since going 8-0-0 from Nov. 25-Dec. 9, 2017.
Mikey and his brother, New Jersey Devils forward Joey Anderson, are the sixth set of siblings in NHL history to each have their first NHL goal stand as the game-winner.

Flyers go for 10th straight win; Bruins seek 100th point

The Flyers (41-20-7) go for their 10th consecutive win when they play the NHL-leading Boston Bruins at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, NBCSP, NESN, NHL.TV).
A victory would put the Flyers alone in first place in the Metropolitan Division; they trail the Capitals by one point. It would also give Philadelphia its fifth winning streak of
at least 10 games
since entering the NHL in 1967 and the second since 10 in a row from Dec. 22, 1982-Jan. 13, 1983. The Flyers also went 10-0-0 from Nov. 27-Dec. 14, 2016.
The Bruins (43-14-12) need a victory to reach 100 points within their first 70 games for the seventh time since entering the NHL in 1924. They've accomplished the feat once since the 1970s, getting No. 100 in their 70th game in 2013-14.