Alex Ovechkin scores on Marc-Andre Fleury for a 28th time to move 24 away from the NHL goals record

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin moved another step closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record by tormenting Marc-Andre Fleury one more time.

The Washington Capitals captain scored his 871st goal by beating Fleury on a power play in the second period against Minnesota on Thursday night. Fleury got the last laugh by denying Ovechkin in the shootout to give the Wild the victory.

"He got a goal in the game already, so that was enough," Fleury said with a chuckle.

Ovechkin has scored on Fleury 28 times in 47 games against him over the past two decades, with a vast majority of them coming when “Flower” played for the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s by far the most of the record-tying 178 different goaltenders Ovechkin has scored on.

“I don’t like getting scored on by him, but I love the battle over the years," Fleury said, acknowledging he knew he had given up more goals to Ovechkin than anyone else. "Yeah, I’ve heard that a few times.”

Fleury has also played Ovechkin the most of any goalie and seen his most shots: 241 of his record 6,708.

“It's 20 years we play against each other,” Ovechkin said. "It’s always fun. It’s always a challenge. He’s one of the best goalies out there, and it’s a huge challenge for me to play against him.”

With 40.8 seconds left in the second period, Ovechkin skated over to Fleury after the whistle and joked, “I need one more.”

“You already get one,” Fleury responded as the two longtime rivals shared a laugh.

Beating Fleury put Ovechkin 24 back of passing Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals that was once considered unapproachable. The 39-year-old winger has 18 goals this season and three in four since returning from a broken left fibula and is on pace to get to 895 and possibly beyond this spring.

“I feel fortunate I was able to play in this time," Fleury said. "He probably owes me a few things for scoring so many goals on me. I helped it out pretty good. I’m glad I got to face him. He’s one of the best and always brings the best out of you.”

With Fleury playing his final season in the league, this could be Ovechkin's final goal against him, though the Capitals also visit the Wild on March 27.

“We still got one more game, so I don’t want to get too cocky too early,” Fleury said.

The only active netminder close on Ovechkin's list is fellow Russian Sergei Bobrovsky at 16. Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist is second behind Fleury at 24, and Carey Price third at 22.

Despite giving up another to Ovechkin, Fleury beat the Capitals for the 28th time in his career. Washington's Tom Wilson, who also scored and had another would-be goal disallowed, said there's a lot of respect for Fleury among opponents.

“When he’s gone, the game will miss him,” Wilson said. "He’s fun to have in the league. He’s a heck of a goalie. We’ve had a lot of battles against him. I think ‘O’ and him, you see them smiling back and forth. Game respects game. It’s fun to see two all-time legends going at it and having a front-row seat to that.”

The Wild were happy to help Fleury go out on a high note in his final game in the U.S. capital.

“I know with Flower, he’s played a lot of games in this building and against this team," said forward Ryan Hartman, who scored for the first time since Nov. 19. “It always seems like it’s a good battle whenever he’s here, and I think sometimes games like this mean a lot to him.”

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