Alex Ovechkin scores the winning goal and extends his goal streak

WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin scored to hand the Predators another loss and keep his Capitals going. For people on the other side who have seen him many times over the years, this was no surprise.

“You knew it was coming,” said Predators coach Andrew Brunette, whose final seven seasons as a player overlapped with Ovechkin’s first seven in the NHL. “You're on the bench and I think I've seen him too many times. I've played against him, I've trained against him, I've watched him, and he just finds that, and when the time comes his stick, he's gone.

“It’s a great shot from probably the best goalscorer of all time.”

The 39-year-old Ovechkin is now six goals shy of breaking Jaromir Jagr's record for most game-winning goals in his career. His 130th goal helped the Capitals improve to 9-3-0 on the season with a 3-2 win and handed the Predators their ninth loss in 13 games.

“A guy who is still performing at this age is impressive,” Predators forward Steven Stamkos said. “It’s very impressive to continue to do it at this age.”

Ovechkin has scored six goals in his last five games, bringing his total to 861 for his career. He's just 34 years away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's career mark, which seemed aloof for decades.

Washington's longtime captain also became the third player age 39 or older to score in five or more consecutive games, joining Johnny Bucyk in 1974 and Brett Hull in 2003.

“At some point he’s going to be considered the highest-scoring guy of all time here,” Stamkos said. “He’s just a goalscorer of a generation and a guy I’ve always looked up to when it comes to the way he scores goals. The hardest thing you can do in the NHL is score, and he soon found a way to do it better, anyone ever.”

Ovechkin continued his scoring streak in every game the Capitals wear their black “Screaming Eagle” jersey, this time for the first time in their 50th season. The player known as the “Great Eight” plays 8-on-8 in this uniform.

“I don’t know the stats, but I love this jersey,” Ovechkin said. “Fans love it, so it’s pretty cool.”

Ovechkin assisted Aliaksei Protas early in the game and has eight goals and eight assists this season.

“I always have fun,” Ovechkin said. “But when you win games, when you create opportunities to score goals, it’s always fun to play.”