Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists as the host Washington Capitals defeated the expansion Seattle Kraken 5-2 Saturday night.

Ovechkin's power-play goal on a slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle just 47 seconds into the third period gave the Capitals a 4-2 lead and was the 764th of his NHL career, pulling him within two of Jaromir Jagr for third in league history. Only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) have scored more.

Conor Sheary scored twice, including an empty-netter at 17:50 of the third, and Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov also tallied for the Capitals. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek, selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft before being traded back to Washington, made 29 saves.

Joonas Donskoi and Colin Blackwell scored for Seattle, which has lost eight of its past nine games. Chris Driedger stopped 20 of 24 shots.

Wilson opened the scoring at 11:30 of the first. Ovechkin skated the puck over the blue line along the right boards before cutting toward the slot. The puck slipped off his stick, but Wilson was right there to carry on, faking a forehand shot before sliding a backhander just inside the left post.

Orlov made it 2-0 just 34 seconds later on a low blast from the top of the left faceoff circle.

The Kraken cut Washington's lead to 2-1 at 16:56 of the period as Donskoi scored on a rebound for just his second goal of the season.

Blackwell tied the score less than a minute into the second on a three-on-two rush.

The Capitals regained the lead at 11:48 of the second on the power play. Ovechkin's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle went off a defenseman's skate and to Wilson in the slot. His attempt was stopped by Driedger, but Sheary was stationed near the right post and flipped the rebound into the net from a sharp angle.

--Field Level Media