“Of course, it’s always good to hear numbers like milestones and such. It’s great and, as I always say, it’s great to stand with names like that,” Ovechkin explained. “It’s fun. The boys are happy, the outfit, the very happy fans, my family. It’s a great moment,” the 36-year-old said after his brace.

Ovechkin scored to make it 2:2 (34th) and decided to make it 5:3 in an empty goal in the 59th minute with a goal. This veteran player has now scored 36 goals in 56 matches this season.

It was a 1:2 loss to the Nashville Predators after four previous wins for the Dallas Stars with Carinthian striker Michael Raffle. Dallas took the lead through John Klingberg (41st) and had a great opportunity to make it 2-0 via a raffle in the 53rd minute. Goalkeeper Jus Saros, however, saved his shot and Ryan Johansson retaliated 16 seconds later to make it 1-1 (54′). Roman Josie (59th) scored the winning goal for Nashville in the last minute.

Tuesday’s NHL results: Nashville Predators 2-1 Dallas Stars (w/ Raffles), New Jersey Devils 5-3 Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins 3-4 Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 Seattle Kraken, Detroit Red Wings 2-9 Arizona Coyotes, St. Louis Blues 1-4 Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild 5-2 New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets 7-4 Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks 8-3 Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames 4 – 5 Washington Capitals.