WASHINGTON -- The milestones continue to pile up for Alexander Ovechkin.

The Washington Capitals left winger became the 18th player in NHL history to score 200 power-play goals as his first-period tally would prove to be the difference Sunday in a 3-0 triumph over the weary Vancouver Canucks.

Ovechkin downplays most of his Hall of Fame-caliber numbers, and this achievement was no different.

"It's a big number, obviously, but you have to forget about it and move forward," he said.

The Capitals' resurgent power play worked to perfection to get Ovechkin his historic tally. With Vancouver's Daniel Sedin off for hooking, crisp passes from Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson set Ovechkin up right at the left face-off circle -- his favorite spot on the ice -- and he did not miss, besting Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom with a blast just inside the near post.

After struggling during the early part of the season, Washington has now scored 10 power-play goals in its last 12 games, and is beginning to resemble the feared unit that was fifth in the league last season.

"When we connect with each other, when we know exactly what we are going to do, it's pretty to play and pretty to watch," Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin's power-play mark ties him with Mark Recchi in 18th place. Ovechkin and Florida's Jaromir Jagr (212) are the only active players who have scored 200 or more power-play goals. The goal ended a seven-game drought for Ovechkin, who had little concern about the dry spell.

"I had pretty good chances the last couple of games and sometimes the puck just don't want to go in," Ovechkin said. "I've been in this situation before. It's not frustrating. You just have to fight through it and get a lucky one or from power play."

The Capitals didn't need much offense against a weary Canucks team that arrived in D.C. at 3 a.m. Sunday on the heels of a loss Saturday against the Panthers.

"I think the schedule got Vancouver a little bit," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought they had a real good push in the first and then we started to overwhelm them as the game went on."

Markstrom was game, making 26 saves, but the Canucks didn't have much snap in their offense, registering just three shots on goal in the second period despite three power-play opportunities.

Overall, Vancouver was 0-for-5 with the extra skater, with only one shot on goal.

"You can't just look for shots all the time, you have to play the game," Sedin said. "If the shot is there, you take the shot, but I think tonight, they blocked a lot of shots. The most frustrating part I think is our power play. That's where you can turn the game around, especially on the road. The power play needs to be better."

Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins didn't use his team's travels as an excuse, instead saying his offense, which featured some new-look lines, was out of sync.

"I thought our team battled hard," he said. "We just didn't find a way to score."

Washington picked up an insurance goal early in the third period. Justin Williams took a nifty feed from center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had drawn three Vancouver defenders, and floated a shot over a sprawling Markstrom for a 2-0 advantage. Tom Wilson added an empty-net goal with 51.1 seconds left.

"It's frustrating for the whole team," Markstrom said. "They got a lot of bounces, and obviously, it would be nice for us to get bounces, too. But right now, we have to earn it."

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season, although he didn't face many quality shots.

"That was one of our best games of the year," Holtby said. "It was a very well-rounded game. We're realizing a little bit more who we are."

Vancouver is now 1-3 on its five-game East Coast swing. The Capitals swept the season series against the Canucks and have now won four straight against Vancouver.

NOTES: Washington reassigned D Aaron Ness to AHL Hershey on Sunday, clearing the way for D Matt Niskanen's return, after he missed one game with an upper body injury. The Capitals have missed just 10 man-games to injury, fewest in the league. Vancouver entered Sunday with 104 man-games lost. ... Canucks RW Jannik Hansen returned to the lineup after being sidelined since Nov. 5 with a rib injury. His return to the top line resulted in shuffles along the top three forward lines. ... Vancouver scratched LW Sven Baertschi and G Ryan Miller. The Canucks reassigned C Joseph LaBate and D Andrey Pedan to Utica of the AHL. ... Sunday's contest is the only game Washington will play against a Western Conference foe in a span of 22 games. ... D Taylor Chorney and RW Brett Connolly were scratched for Washington.