Ovechkin scores in 5th straight, lifts Capitals past Predators

Ovechkin, who also had an assist, has six goals during his streak and has scored 861 in his NHL career. He needs 34 to pass Wayne Gretzky (894) for the all-time lead.

“He generally, when he’s not scoring, gives a ton of life,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said, “but when he’s going and there’s pucks on him and he’s skating and he’s on one of those runs and when they go in for him, you can feel it on the bench. His teammates can feel it, and when he touches the puck, everyone holds their breath a little bit.”

Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas also scored for the Capitals (9-3-0), who have won seven straight home games. Dylan Strome had two assists and Logan Thompson made 33 saves.

“It was a tough one today,” said Ovechkin, Washington’s captain. “(Thompson) did a great job of keeping us in the game and making big saves. We’ll take that and move on.”

Juuso Parssinen and Steven Stamkos scored for the Predators (4-8-1), who have lost four of five. Juuse Saros made 33 saves.

“That effort and work ethic, that’s the style of play we want and probably one of the better efforts of the year,” Stamkos said. “It’s difficult when you don’t get rewarded in those games, but those are the games that hopefully you can build on and replicate that beyond the (six) penalties.”

Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 10:25 when he scored on a one-timer from the bottom of the right face-off circle off Strome’s backhand pass. It was Ovechkin’s eighth goal of the season and his 130th game-winner in the NHL.

“You knew it was coming,” Nashville coach Andre Brunette said. “You’re on the bench and I’ve probably seen him too many times. I’ve played against him, I’ve coached against him, I’ve watched him and he just figures it out and when it’s on his stick, it away. It’s a big shot from arguably the greatest goalscorer of all time.”