It didn’t take long for Alexander Ovechkin to draw first blood on Rivalry Night.
The Washington captain opened the scoring against Pittsburgh less than eight minutes into the first period, tipping home a Karl Alzner shot to give the Caps a 1-0 lead:
The goal was Ovechkin’s 28th of the year, drawing him even with Dallas’ Tyler Seguin and New York Rangers forward Rick Nash for the NHL lead. The two-time reigning Rocket Richard winner, Ovi has captured the goalscoring race in four of the last seven seasons and now looks primed to challenge for his fifth career title.