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Capitals pass Penguins in clash of hot teams on Ovechkin’s milestone night

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Alex Ovechkin registered his 1,000th and 1,001st career points to help push the Capitals past the Penguins on Rivalry Night.

On a night where we gaped in awe at Alex Ovechkin’s stats - he’s now at 1,001 points - a lot of other numbers look very impressive for the Washington Capitals.

Consider this: in their last two meetings with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington’s won both games by a combined score of 12-3.

That includes tonight’s 5-2 victory, extending Washington’s winning streak to seven straight games while ending the Penguins’ run at six. To some, the most important numbers might come in the standings: the Capitals moved to second place in the ridiculous Metropolitan Division (59 points in 41 games) ahead of now-third-place Pittsburgh (57 points in 40 games).

Ovechkin wasn’t the only big Capitals name who piled up nice numbers, by the way.

Nicklas Backstrom enjoyed quite the night in his own right, collecting a goal and three assists. Braden Holtby’s now only allowed three goals in his last four games, all wins. The high-level netminder left Phil Kessel muttering to himself frequently on Wednesday:

As fitting with the theme of “Wednesday Night Rivalry,” there were plenty of chippy moments in this high-profile game. It should add that extra little zip to their next meeting, which happens on Monday, Jan. 16 in Pittsburgh on NBCSN.