Ovechkin named NHL first star of the week after surpassing 500-goal plateau

NEW YORK, N.Y. – A day after reaching the exclusive 500-goal milestone, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin has been named the NHL first star of the week.

Ovechkin scored five goals over four games to help the league-leading Capitals to four straight wins.

He capped the week by scoring twice, including his 500th and 501st NHL goals, in a 7-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Ovechkin became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal milestone, doing so in 801 games. Only Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693) have reached the mark in fewer games.

The 30-year-old Moscow native is already the all-time NHL leader in goals by a Russian-born player. He leads the NHL with 26 goals in 41 games this season.

Detroit goaltender Pert Mrazek earned second-star honours, going 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average, .978 save percentage and one shutout to backstop the Red Wings to three straight wins.

Colorado defenceman Tyson Barrie claimed the third star with three goals and three assists in four games.