Around the League notebook: Sunday, Feb. 7

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
WASHINGTON 3, Philadelphia 2

NY ISLANDERS 8, Edmonton 1 
ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR OVECHKIN
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin
scored his 30th goal of the season
and ranks second among NHL leaders, trailing only Patrick Kane (32 w/ CHI). Ovechkin has reached the 30 goals in each of his 11 NHL seasons since beginning his career in 2005-06.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to score 30 or more goals in each of his first 11 seasons, joining Mike Gartner (15 seasons) and Wayne Gretzky (13 seasons).
OKPOSO'S HAT TRICK HELPS ISLANDERS WIN BIG AGAINST OILERS
The New York Islanders scored a season-high eight goals to defeat the Edmonton Oilers and improve to 5-2-1 in their past eight home games.
* At 27-18-6 (60 points), the Islanders passed the idle Pittsburgh Penguins (26-18-7, 59 points) and New Jersey Devils (26-20-7, 59 points) for sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division. They also climbed within three points of the idle New York Rangers (29-18-5, 63 points) for second place.
* Kyle Okposo (3-1-4)
got his second NHL hat trick
and four-point game (also Jan. 16, 2015, vs. PIT: 4-0-4). He leads New York in assists (27) and points (41) this season (49 GP).
* John Tavares (1-2-3) had his third three-point game of the season (48 GP). He scored his Islanders-leading fifth game-winning goal in the first period.
* Nick Leddy (0-3-3) had an NHL career high with three assists and had his third three-point game in the League (also Feb. 19, 2015, vs. NSH: 1-2-3 and March 16, 2013, at DAL: 1-2-3 w/ CHI).
* Cal Clutterbuck (1-1-2) and Frans Nielsen (0-2-2) had two points.
* Thomas Greiss made saves on 30 of 31 shots to pick up his third straight victory and his fifth win in his past six games (5-1-0). Overall, Greiss is 14-6-2 this season (2.26 GAA, .929 SV%, 1 SO).
* The Islanders have won nine consecutive home games vs. EDM dating to Dec. 18, 2001 (EDM: 0-8-1).
NHL-LEADING CAPITALS CONTINUE DOMINANCE AT HOME
Tied at 2-2 through 40 minutes, Matt Niskanen scored a highlight-reel go-ahead goal at 5:24 of the third period to power the Capitals to a 14-1-1 record in their past 16 home games dating to Nov. 21.
* At 38-9-4 (80 points), the League-leading Capitals increased their lead on the idle Chicago Blackhawks (36-16-4, 76 points) atop the NHL standings to four points.
* The Capitals are 20-4-2 (42 points) in 26 games at Verizon Center this season. Their 20 home wins and 42 home points rank second in the NHL behind the Blackhawks (21-5-1, 43 points).
* Braden Holtby (33 saves) picked up his third consecutive victory and stretched his personal point streak to six games (5-0-1). Overall, Holtby is 33-5-3 this season (2.06 GAA, .929 SV%, 2 SO) and leads the NHL in wins.
SCRIVENS, ANDRIGHETTO LIFT CANADIENS PAST HURRICANES
Ben Scrivens made 34 saves through 65 minutes, and Sven Andrighetto scored the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the Montreal Canadiens to their second straight win after a four-game slide (0-4-0).
* At 26-24-4 (56 points), the Canadiens moved with three points of the Penguins (26-18-7, 59 points) for the final wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
* Scrivens, who denied all five Carolina Hurricanes shooters in the shootout, picked up his second consecutive victory following a 0-4-0 start to the season.
* Captain Max Pacioretty (1-0-1) reached 20 goals for the third straight season and the fourth time in his eight NHL seasons since beginning his career in 2008-09.
* The Canadiens are 9-1-1 in their past 11 games vs. CAR dating to Dec. 18, 2013 (CAR: 2-8-1), which includes a record of 6-0-0 at home.
MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Hurricanes captain Eric Staal skated in his 900th career game (all w/ CAR) and became the third player in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history to play in 900 games with the franchise, joining Ron Francis (1,186 GP) and Glen Wesley (913 GP).
* Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (0-1-1) skated in his 900th career game (all w/ MTL) and became the third defenseman in their history to reach the milestone, joining Larry Robinson (1,202 GP) and Serge Savard (917 GP).
* Markov also had his 407th NHL assist and passed Guy Lapointe (406) for sole possession of second on the Canadiens' all-time list among defensemen. Larry Robinson (686) is the all-time leader.
* Canadiens forward Torrey Mitchell skated in his 500th career game.
LOOSE PUCKS
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (1-0-1) has 30-17-47 in 40 career regular-season games vs. PHI... Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky (0-1-1) extended his career-high point streak to seven games (6-3-9)... Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov (0-1-1) has at least one assist in six of his past seven games (0-12-12)... Philadelphia Flyers rookie Shayne Gostisbehere (0-1-1) extended his point streak to eight games (2-9-11), the longest such run by a Flyers rookie defenseman in their history. It's the longest point streak by any rookie defenseman since Kevin Shattenkirk had a nine-game streak from Nov. 17-Dec. 4, 2010 (4-9-13 w/ COL), the Elias Sports Bureau said... Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (0-1-1) has a six-game point streak (2-7-9) and has at least one point in 12 of his past 13 games (4-11-15)... Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner (1-0-1) has a season-high five-game point streak (2-4-6)... Oilers center Connor McDavid (1-0-1), the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, has 2-4-6 in four games since making his return to the lineup Feb. 2 after missing 37 because of a fractured left clavicle. He has 7-11-18 overall (17 GP)... Jets forward Drew Stafford
will have a hearing with NHL Department of Player Safety
on Monday for high sticking on Nick Holden of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday at Pepsi Center... The St. Louis Blues thanked a young fan and intend to repay him
for his kind gesture to another fan
after a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.