Alexander Ovechkin scored in Washington's 2:3 loss after overtime at the guest of Winnipeg in the match between the leaders of the two conferences of the National Hockey League, BTA reported.
He thus came one goal closer to Wayne Gretzky's league scoring record. With the success, the home team became the second team this season after the Capitals to secure a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ovechkin increased his tally to 889 goals and is now only six away from bettering Gretzky's peak achievement of 894. The Russian forward tied the score at 2:2 four minutes before the end of the third period, but the Canadiens still achieved success with a goal by Nikolai Ehlers in the 88th second of extra time.
Washington remained the league leader with 103 points, one point more than Winnipeg, which is the leader in the West.
Lindy Ruff became the second coach in NHL history with 600 wins at the helm of one club, after Buffalo won 3-2 against Ottawa. Tage Thompson scored the winning goal 1:23 into the final period, and goaltender James Reimer made 30 saves.
Ruff is leading the team in 1,235 games. He is behind only Al Alber, who has 740 wins as coach of the New York Islanders.
William Nylander and John Tavares each had two goals and two assists and helped Toronto win 7-2 at home against Philadelphia. The win moved the Canadiens into first place in the Atlantic Division with 89 points, overtaking defending champion Florida on additional points.
Tampa Bay defeated visiting Pittsburgh 6-1. Anthony Cirelli scored twice, and Nikita Kucherov finished with a goal and two assists, and for the third consecutive season and fifth time in his career, he surpassed the 100-point mark in a single campaign. Kucherov is tied for second place with Leon Draisaitl with 101 points, six behind Colorado's Nate McKinnon.
McKinnon also added to his tally tonight with a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over visiting Detroit. He has recorded at least a point in his team's last 22 home games. Colorado recorded its 11th victory in 13 games and with 91 points occupies the third position in the Central Division.
Luke Evangelista scored two goals, Yuuse Saros saved 34 goals in victory number 200 of his career, and Nashville coped with a 3-1 victory over visiting Carolina.
Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas finished with a goal and three assists, and St. Louis achieved its seventh consecutive victory after a 6-1 victory over visiting Montreal.
Vegas won 4-1 against host Minnesota and confidently leads the Pacific Division with 94 points. Jack Eichel achieved the fifth hat trick of his career, and the visitors recorded their fourth consecutive victory.
Nazem Kadri scored 62 seconds before the end of overtime and gave Calgary a 4-3 victory over visiting Seattle. The Canadiens won their fourth consecutive game, but with 79 points they are 4 points behind the second "wild card" for the Western Conference playoffs, which is currently held by St. Louis, but they have three games less than their opponent.
Kevin Fiala scored twice for Los Angeles, which defeated the visiting New York Rangers 3-1. With their fourth consecutive win, the hosts consolidated their place in second place in the Pacific Division with 89 points. Los Angeles is on a 15-game regular-time home-court unbeaten streak.