Alex Ovechkin scores his 887th goal to lead the Capitals to a 5-1 win over the Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 887th career goal Saturday to move within eight of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record and the Washington Capitals beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1.

Ovechkin deflected a shot from Martin Fehervary past Georgi Romanov with 9:06 remaining in the third period. Romanov is the NHL-record 182nd goalie that Ovechkin has scored on.

The 39-year-old Russian star has 34 goals on the season. He remains on pace before the end of this season to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the end of this season.

Ovechkin also had an assist on Dylan Strome's game-opening goal to help Washington win for the sixth time in seven games.

Aliaksei Protas, Taylor Raddysh and Trevor van Riemsdyk also scored for Washington. Logan Thompson made 19 saves.

Macklin Celebrini scored for San Jose.

Alexandar Georgiev allowed three goals on 17 shots before being replaced by Romanov after the first period.

Capitals: Washington bounced back from a 3-0 loss at Los Angeles on Thursday and improved to 18-4-1 following a loss this season.

Sharks: Two nights after beating fellow bottom-dweller Chicago 4-2, San Jose was outclassed against East-leading Washington. San Jose was outshot 17-3 in the first period.

Ovechkin found Strome alone streaking down the middle and Strome beat Georgiev to the glove side 7:33 into the game. It was Ovechkin's 776th career point on the road. He made it 777 with the goal and needs two more road points to pass Gordie Howe for the eighth most in NHL history.

The goal by van Riemsdyk came 40 seconds after the Sharks cut it to 3-1 in the third and ended his 145 game drought without a goal.

The Capitals host Detroit on Tuesday night The Sharks host Carolina on Thursday night.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

San Jose Sharks goaltender Georgi Romanov (31) blocks a shot by Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas, left, is congratulated by goaltender Logan Thompson (48) after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) fights with San Jose Sharks center Zack Ostapchuk (63) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin waits for a face off during the second period against the San Jose Sharks in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) shoots at the goal against San Jose Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais (5) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin dives for the puck during the second period against the San Jose Sharks in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)