Ovechkin reaches 50 goals in season for 6th time, ties Capitals record with 472nd of career

WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin has become only the sixth player in NHL history to score at least 50 goals in a season six times.

The Washington Capitals' captain netted his league-leading No. 50 in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

The goal was the 472nd of Ovechkin's career, which tied him with Peter Bondra for the most by a member of the Capitals.

The Russian left wing is playing in his 10th season for Washington, and Tuesday's game was his 755th, more than 200 fewer than Bondra's 961 with the franchise.

Ovechkin's milestone goal gave Washington a 2-0 lead about 11 minutes into the game, when he took a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov and sent a shot from just inside the left circle past goalie Cam Ward.