Alex Ovechkin fired a perfect wrist shot past Calvin Pickard for his first goal, scored from his office on the power play for his second and sailed a shot into an empty net to complete the hat trick. The Washington Capitals’ 7-3 rout of the Edmonton Oilers put Ovechkin 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894.
Ovechkin, 39, is on pace to pass Gretzky this spring after missing 16 games earlier in the season due to a broken leg. His linemate Dylan Strome acknowledged that scoring 13 more goals would be tough, but Ovechkin is taking it “game by game.”
The crowd of 18,573 fans chanted “Ovi! Ovi!” as Ovechkin scored from 139 feet out in the third period. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren praised Ovechkin, saying he amazes him night in and night out.
With his next goal, Ovechkin will tie Jaromir Jagr’s record with 135 game-winning goals, moving into a tie for fifth on that list with Phil Esposito. The Russian superstar is still chasing history at 39 years old, leaving fans and opponents alike in awe of his skills.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/alex-ovechkin-hat-trick-capitals-fed5127bba3726bfcf97e6fdd82de3ad