NEW YORK -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 885th career goal midway through the third period of the Washington Capitals' 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, moving nine away from tying Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.

The Capitals' captain scored as he knocked in a loose puck from the left side with 9:32 left in the third period to tie the score at 2-2.

"Great job on the faceoff. Great battle. Puck came to me and I put it in," said Ovechkin, who is on pace to break Gretzky's once seemingly unapproachable mark of 894 in early April, a few weeks before the regular season is over.

Ovechkin said it doesn't feel any different now that he is single digits away from tying Gretzky.

"I tried to do my best and do my job," he said.

Chants of "Ovi!" emanated from the Madison Square Garden crowd after Ovechkin's third-period goal. He now has 32 goals in 46 games this season.

"I think our bench jumps through the roof whenever he finds the back of the net, which is fitting because he's always the most excited guy on the ice when anybody else scores," said Capitals forward Tom Wilson, who scored the overtime winner. "Whenever he scores, obviously everybody in the hockey world is pretty excited right now."

Washington coach Spencer Carbery, whose team is tied with Winnipeg for the NHL lead in points (88), admitted that he feels "a little extra tension" on the bench as he witnesses Ovechkin closing in on Gretzky's all-time record.

"What do we need? Ten more?" he asked, before repeating the gap separating Ovechkin from breaking the record. "Ten more ... 10 more ... 10 more. We got this."

Ovechkin now has 46 goals in 76 career games against the Rangers. He had 15 goals in his first 18 games, then sat out 16 games because of a fractured left fibula. He returned Dec. 28 and has scored 17 in 28 games since.

"I think it's great to see him still as excited as ever and still having as big of an impact as he has," said Capitals defenseman John Carlson, who has played with Ovechkin for 16 seasons in Washington. "You're cheering for your friend and he seems to score every time on a big stage in a big moment. And he did that tonight, too."

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and The Associated Press contributed to this report.