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Alex Ovechkin has put one past the goaltender in two straight games and three of his past four, as he continues to inch closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record. The 39-year-old superstar now has racked up 38 goals so far this campaign, which is tied for the fourth-most in the entire league. He now sits at 891 career goals, just three behind Gretzky, with eight games remaining in the regular season for the Washington Capitals. 

Ovechkin and the Capitals travel to take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET tonight on TNT and Max. These two occupy the two top spots in the Metropolitan Division, with the Capitals leading by 11 points. Washington has the most points in the Eastern Conference at 105 and is only one shy of the Winnipeg Jets' 106 for tops in the NHL. 

Ovechkin has quite a history at the Lenono Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's scored 31 times there in 45 career games, making it the place where he's racked up the most road goals in his career. It's also the site where his NHL career began, as he was selected first overall by the Capitals at the then-RBC Center (now called the Lenovo Center) in the 2004 NHL Draft.

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Over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Hurricanes are -172 (bet $172 to win $100) on the money line for tonight's clash, whereas the Capitals are +142 (bet $100 to win $142) underdogs. The total goals for this contest reside at 5.5, with the over juiced at -120 and the under sitting at -102.

For anytime goal scorer, it's not a surprise to see Ovechkin with the shortest odds of any player this game at +130. Interestingly, the next five on the odds board are all Hurricanes, with Sebastian Aho (+165) and Seth Jarvis (+175) leading that group. Ovechkin also has the shortest odds of anyone to score the game's first goal (+1000), score 2+ goals (+900) and notch a hat trick (+4600). 

FanDuel also has odds about whether Ovechkin will score his 895th career goal to break Gretzky's record during the 2024-25 regular season. Yes is now a sizable favorite at -260, while No is priced at +195. 

Here's a look at the SportsLine model's projections for Wednesday's battle between the Capitals and Hurricanes. You can see the model's pick for every NHL game and other sports -- as well as expert picks -- at SportsLine.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS at CAROLINA HURRICANES | 4/2 | 7 p.m. ET

Money line
Pick: Capitals +143
Washington wins in 56% of simulations

Puck line
Pick: Capitals +1.5 (-176)
Washington covers in 76% of simulations, bringing value to these odds

Over/Under
Pick: Over 5.5
The Over hits in 72% of simulations

Projected score: Capitals 3.8, Hurricanes 3.4