Forty-four, the fastest.
A 3-2 Washington Capitals win over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday saw Mike Richards score his first with the club, Alex Ovechkin notch his league-best 39th goal, and the team become the fastest in NHL history to hit 44 wins, needing only 58 games.
The @washcaps (44-10-4, 92 points) are 1st team in NHL history to win 44 of its 1st 58 games in a season. #ARIvsWSH pic.twitter.com/Z94aYo6fGy
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2016
The Capitals bumped their point total to 92 in the process, pushing their lead atop the Metropolitan Division to 18 points, and moving 11 clear of the Chicago Blackhawks in the race for the President's Trophy.
Braden Holtby backstopped the noteworthy - albeit slightly trivial - win, inching closer to a milestone of far greater significance in the process. The Vezina Trophy frontrunner is now just 10 wins shy of Martin Brodeur's single-season record with 24 games left on the schedule.
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