Capitals are the top team in the East after getting Alex Ovechkin the NHL career goals record

WASHINGTON (AP) — Getting Alex Ovechkin the NHL goals record was a major motivator for the Washington Capitals over the past month. That came Sunday when he scored the 895th of his career.

The other aim was locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the fast-approaching playoffs. They did that by beating Metropolitan Division rival Carolina on Thursday night.

That finishes off Washington's regular-season checklist with four games to go, and with no real desire to win the Presidents’ Trophy. The Capitals earned that three times between 2010 and 2017 and lost in the first or second round each time before not doing so and hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018, though home-ice advantage through the first three rounds was a valuable prize.

“Obviously, it’s been a great year," said Dylan Strome, who leads the team in scoring with 77 points. “Lots of work left to do, though. Can’t be satisfied, but it’s a credit to us. I think we found a way to continue to battle throughout the whole year.”

Having a large cushion atop the East and the Metro allowed the Caps to focus on Ovechkin. They still have a shot at the Presidents' Trophy given they don't face a contending team the rest of the way.

After being the first team to clinch a playoff spot, they also reached 50 wins. That's 10 more than last season, when they eked in as the last team to qualify by winning their final game.

“Fifty wins in this league, winning the Eastern Conference in the regular season, that’s a huge achievement and that’s a lot of hard work and a lot of difficult games,” said Spencer Carbery, a front-runner to win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. “This league is relentless, and it is a grind and it is unforgiving at times, and our team has done an exceptional job all year long of staying in the moment.”

Washington had lost five of its past seven games going into the game against the Hurricanes, before which Ovechkin was honored for passing Gretzky. The 39-year-old longtime captain received a 6-foot sculpture and an engraved golden stick among other gifts, and young sons Sergei and Ilya got golden mini sticks.

“Great ceremony,” Ovechkin said. “It was a little emotional.”

Now, the Capitals turn their attention to making another long playoff run. They have not won a series since hoisting the Cup seven years ago.

“It’s always a dream, and it’s always a hard way and it’s a long way,” Ovechkin said. "We’re just gonna take it game by game. Four games left, and we just have to be ready for it.”

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