Alex Ovechkin ties Brett Hull for fourth place on hockey's all-time goals list

With a flick of the stick, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin climbed another rung on the all-time NHL scoring list.

Ovechkin redirected a shot by teammate Dmity Orlov into the net in the second period of Monday night's 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres for his 11th goal of the season — and more importantly, the 741st of his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Brett Hull on hockey's all-time list. 

The only players still ahead of him are Jaromir Jagr (766), Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894). The official list counts goals scored in both the NHL and WHA.

With 11 goals this season, Ovechkin, 36, leads the NHL. 

“I just take it day by day,” Ovechkin said after the game. “You know it’s nice to be in that company. It’s pretty big numbers, so just move on. Obviously, it’s nice to be tied but I still have a couple games left.”

He also assisted on two goals, including the first of two by Tom Wilson, which gave Washington an early lead it never relinquished.

Ovechkin nearly got his history-making goal in the first period when he redirected Trevor Van Riemsdyk’s shot from the point. But it caught an inadvertent piece of Wilson’s arm on its way past Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski, so Ovechkin received the assist.

Ovechkin has led the league in goals nine times in his 17-year career, all with the Capitals.

Contributing: The Associated Press