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WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin wants to be the NHL’s all-time goal leader, but under one condition.

“I don’t want an empty net,” Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals with two tallies in a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

However, when the Blackhawks pulled goalie Spencer Knight late in the third period and the Capitals ahead 4-3, Ovechkin appeared to tell coach Spencer Carbery “no” and sat in the middle of the bench.

“He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease, which I appreciate,” Carbery said. “He told me that on the bench, and I just wanted to confirm that he didn’t want to go out. And it’s hard for us as coaches because I just wanted to make sure in that moment: hat track, at home. And he didn’t want to go out and score on an empty net to break the record. We have six games left, and he wants to break the record and have that moment where he’s shooting the puck past a goalie.”

Ovechkin said it wasn’t just Carbery who asked him late in the game.

“I tell Carbs right away, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ Stromer [Dylan Strome] ask me, Carly [John Carlson] ask me, everybody ask me, ‘Do you want it? Do you want it?'” Ovechkin said. “I said let’s wait.”

Ovechkin said this at a news conference while sitting next to Gretzky, who quipped: “I’ll take all the empty nets I can get.”

Ovechkin has nine more empty-net goals than Gretzky did in his career.

Rookie Ryan Leonard scored on the empty net for his first career goal to seal the victory.

“The young man that got his first goal tonight said, ‘Only have 895 to go to pass Alex,'” Gretzky said with a smile.

“I’m happy for Leno,” Ovechkin said. “He score his first NHL goal. The kid have a great future. Tonight is an unbelievable night for our organization, for hockey, for D.C. Wayne Gretzky saw that, and it’s unbelievable.”

Once Leonard scored and Knight returned, Ovechkin was ready to strike again. The 39-year-old took four shots over the final 1 minute, 18 seconds of game time, to no avail.

“I have pretty good chances in the last minute,” Ovechkin said, before joking: “If Stromer give me a nice pass, like a flat one, it would be probably be in.”

The record-tying goal had the entire Capitals team spilling onto the ice, followed by an extended celebration where Ovechkin took several laps, fist-bumped his son Sergei who was sitting on the glass, bowed to the suite where Gretzky was sitting and blew kisses to the crowd.

“You just can’t script this stuff,” Carbery said. “It’s right on brand for O; he has a flair for the dramatics.”

After the game, Blackhawks players stayed on the ice to do a handshake line with Ovechkin.

“Obviously very classy by the Hawks organization what they did tonight for ‘O’ and it’s as good as it gets,” Capitals winger Tom Wilson said. “We have more to look forward to hopefully, but this was an incredible night.”

The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals next play Sunday against the Islanders on Long Island, New York, one of six remaining regular-season games on their schedule.

When Ovechkin breaks the record, the NHL plans to stop the game and host a 7- to 10-minute ceremony featuring commissioner Gary Bettman, Ovechkin’s family, Gretzky and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. There will be speeches and a video tribute. The same treatment was given to Gretzky 31 years ago when he broke Gordie Howe’s record, with Howe on hand. Bettman gave Gretzky a book with game sheets as a gift.

Ovechkin has scored in four consecutive games and has 41 goals this season, 10 coming on empty nets. He beat Knight 3:52 into the first period Friday, then scored his 894th on a power play with 13:47 left in the third. It proved to be his 136th game winner, breaking a tie with Jaromir Jagr for most ever.

There was an aura around Friday’s morning skate, where Ovechkin’s mood was lighthearted. The Capitals captain was often smiling and laughing, especially when he got off the ice and interacted with several of his former Stanley Cup-winning teammates — Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Braden Holtby, Brooks Orpik, Devante Smith-Pelly — who were honored in a pregame ceremony later that night as part of the Capitals’ 50th anniversary season. Ovechkin also had a contingent of friends and family in town for Friday’s game, some who are staying at his house.

But the big guest was Gretzky, who flew in to see his record get broken. He had held the record for 11,334 days, since March 23, 1994.

“I’m so proud of the fact that I’m here tonight,” Gretzky said during media availability in the first intermission. “The commissioner and I talked the other day, and Alex said don’t come until I get to two. I thought yesterday, ‘Gosh we better get on the plane and get up there because he might get three tonight.’ When he scored four minutes in, I thought, ‘Oh my god, we might be able to leave after the first period.'”

Bettman has committed to following Ovechkin until he breaks the record, a journey that began Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. Gretzky said he and his wife, Janet, will be in Long Island on Sunday.

Gretzky and Ovechkin had texted regularly in the days leading up to Friday’s game, and even FaceTimed. Ovechkin has spoken about how appreciative he is of Gretzky’s support — which to Gretzky, was a no-brainer.

“The integrity of the game,” Gretzky said. “When I was breaking Gordie Howe’s record, he was there. And I said two years ago that if Alex gets close to my record, I’ll be here. That’s the National Hockey League, Beliveau to Howe, Orr, Lemieux, Messier, you pass it down.”

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Lightning’s Hagel leaves G4 loss after high hit

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Lightning's Hagel leaves G4 loss after high hit

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel left his team’s 4-2 loss to the host Florida Panthers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night after a high hit from defenseman Aaron Ekblad that wasn’t penalized.

With less than 9 minutes left in the second period, Hagel played the puck out of the Tampa Bay zone near the boards. Ekblad skated in on him and delivered a hit with his right forearm that made contact with Hagel’s head, shoving him down in the process.

The back of Hagel’s head hit the ice. He was pulled from the game for concussions concerns. Ekblad did not receive a penalty on the play.

The Lightning trailed the Panthers 1-0 at the time of the hit, but Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak scored two goals in 11 seconds after Hagel left the game to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. When the teams returned for the third period, Hagel was not on the bench.

The Panthers rallied in the third, as Ekblad, Seth Jones and Carter Verhaeghe scored to give Florida a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is in Tampa on Wednesday.

Game 4 saw Hagel return to the Tampa Bay lineup after he served a one-game suspension for interference on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2. The NHL ruled the Barkov wasn’t eligible to be hit and that Hagel made head contact with him. It was the first suspension of this career.

Hagel was one of the best two-way wingers in the league this season, with 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games for the Lightning.

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Nimmo matches Mets franchise record with 9 RBIs

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Nimmo matches Mets franchise record with 9 RBIs

WASHINGTON — Brandon Nimmo hit a grand slam and matched a franchise record with nine RBIs, helping the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals in a 19-5 rout on Monday.

Nimmo also hit a three-run drive in his seventh career multihomer game. The 32-year-old outfielder had four hits and scored four times after beginning the day with a .192 batting average.

All of Nimmo’s damage came in a three-inning span. According to ESPN Research, he became only the third player to pull off that feat in that time frame since the RBI became an official stat in 1920.

The win came a day after New York let a six-run lead slip in an 8-7 loss to the Nationals. The matinee bounce-back earned the club split of the four-game series. The Mets have won nine of 11 overall to improve to a major league-best 20-9.

“Really proud of the guys for flushing yesterday, coming back today and really going out there and work on all sides of the ball,” Nimmo said. “It was really fun to play today.”

Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos also homered for New York, which finished with 21 hits. Vientos connected for a three-run drive against Washington infielder Amed Rosario in the ninth.

James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe homered for Washington in the eighth.

The Mets had a 3-0 lead when Colin Poche replaced Nationals starter Trevor Williams (1-3) with two on in the sixth. Nimmo greeted the left-hander by ripping a 2-0 fastball deep to right-center.

An inning later, the Mets had the bases loaded when Nimmo sent Cole Henry‘s fastball into the right-field seats for his second career grand slam.

Nimmo added a two-run double in the eighth to tie the franchise record for RBIs set by Carlos Delgado in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on June 27, 2008.

“Tomorrow is a new day as well,” Nimmo said, quickly turning the page from the win. “And we’re just going to have to take it a day at a time, and treat it like it is its own.”

McNeil, who made his season debut Friday after sitting out 25 games because of a right oblique strain, hit the first pitch of the fifth deep to right for his first home run of the year.

“One hundred percent,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, when asked if McNeil’s start has been good to see. “When you see him pulling the ball like that, and going deep? That’s a good sign. It’s good to see him continue with that approach.”

Griffin Canning (4-1) pitched five innings of four-hit ball for New York. He has won four consecutive starts for the first time in his six-season career.

Jose Urena earned his first save of the season. He gave up five runs in three innings in his Mets debut.

Williams yielded five runs in a season-high 5⅓ innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Now in LF, Altuve asks off Astros’ leadoff spot

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Now in LF, Altuve asks off Astros' leadoff spot

HOUSTON — Jose Altuve asked manager Joe Espada to move him out of the leadoff spot and into the second hole for the Houston Astros. The reason? He wanted more time to get to the dugout from left field.

Altuve is playing left for the first time in his career after spending his first 14 MLB seasons at second base. “I just need like 10 more seconds,” he said.

The 34-year-old Altuve made the transition to the outfield this season after the trade of Kyle Tucker and the departure of Alex Bregman shook up Houston’s lineup.

Jeremy Peña was in the leadoff spot for Monday night’s game against Detroit. Altuve didn’t suggest that Peña be the one to take his leadoff spot.

“I just told Joe that maybe he can hit me second some games at some point, and he did it today,” Altuve said. “I just need like that little extra time to come from left field, and he decided to put Jeremy [there].”

Peña entered Monday hitting .255 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He hit first in Sunday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City — with Altuve getting a day off — and had two hits and three RBIs.

Along with giving him a little extra time to get ready to bat, Altuve thinks the athletic Peña batting leadoff could boost a lineup that has struggled at times this season.

“Jeremy is one of those guys that has been playing really good for our team,” Altuve said. “He’s taking really good at-bats. He’s very explosive and dynamic on the bases, so when he gets on base a lot of things can happen. Maybe I can bunt him over so Yordan [Alvarez] can drive him in.”

Altuve is a nine-time All-Star. The 2017 AL MVP is hitting .274 with three homers and nine RBIs this season.

Espada said he and Altuve often share different ideas about the team and that they had been talking about this as a possibility for a while before he made the move.

“He’s always looking for ways to get everyone involved and he’s playing left field, comes in, maybe give him a little bit more time to get ready between at-bats, just a lot of things that went into this decision,” Espada said. “He’s been around, he knows himself better than anyone else here, so hopefully this could create some opportunities for everyone here and we can score some runs.”

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