Ovechkin, McMichael each score twice as Capitals rout Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Connor McMichael each scored two goals Saturday night, sparking the Capitals to an 8-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Ovechkin has scored 863 goals and is just 31 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record 894. Ovechkin has scored goals in six of his last seven games. It also marked the 175th multigoal game of Ovechkin’s 20-year, trailing only Gretzky (189).

Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin, Michael Sgarbossa and Brandon Duhaime also scored for Washington.

Goaltender Logan Thompson, acquired in an offseason trade with Vegas, is a perfect 7-0-0 on the season. He recorded 24 saves.

Scott Perunovich scored the lone St. Louis goal. Jordan Binnington faced 27 shots for the Blues.

Takeaways

Capitals: McMichael has points in three consecutive games and six of his last seven outings overall. McMichael scored 59 seconds into the game and added a power-play in the third period.

Blues: Perunovich scored his first career goal on a wrist shot from the slot at 7:07. It was his first goal in 79 games.

Key moment

In the second period, St. Louis outshot Washington 11-4 but was outscored 2-0. Ovechkin scored his ninth goal of the season at 7:42. Washington then went up 3-1 when Chychrun scored from the top of the slot at 10:53.

Key stat

The Blues power play woes continued. St. Louis went 0 for 3 in the game. They are 0 for 13 in their last five games on the power play. The Blues have been on the power play 37 times in 15 games and have scored just four times.

Up next

The Blues end a five-game homestand Tuesday against Boston. The Capitals will host the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

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