Capitals: Alex Ovechkin dominates as MVP against Islanders

Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin notched another hat trick, for the second straight game.

The Washington Capitals came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 6-4 over the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum. Thanks to a five-goal third period and another Alex Ovechkin hat trick, the Capitals head into the All Star break with a 33-11-5 record, good for 71 points to put them at the top of the entire league.

Ovechkin got the Caps on the board to start things off by gliding down ice and getting a long pass from Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin than broke away from two defenders for the finish to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

Staring at a 4-1 deficit, the Capitals had to make a switch in the crease. They took Braden Holtby out and put Ilya Samsonov in. Samsonov did his part stopping all seven shots he faced. I know this article is about Ovechkin but very important nugget since wins and losses are team efforts.

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After the Capitals cut the deficit in half, Ovechkin’s second goal was not only historic but dirty. A slick curl and drag move to drive to the net before the backhanded finish. It was Ovechkin’s 691st of his career to pass Mario Lemieux, cracking the top 10 in scoring at ninth place on the NHL’s all-time list. He’s tied with Steve Yzerman.

Ovechkin might as well have been MVP of the previous game as well. In fact, he’s got eight goals in his past three games and needs two goals to tie Mark Messier.

Ovechkin sounded excited to be in elite company. Via NHL.com’s David Satriano:

“It’s great players there. It’s something special. It’s history. It’s pretty cool. It’s great names. I still have a year and a half [on my contract] and then we’ll see what’s up. I just left out everything there that I had because I have a week off. Now it’s time to regroup and get ready for the second half of the year.”

Ovechkin completed his hat trick with an empty net goal to seal the 6-4 win. It was the 26th hat trick of his career. That’s tied with Maurice “Rocket” Richard for ninth on the all-time hat trick list.

It’s no doubt Ovechkin playing like a man on a mission. He’s determined to reach 700 goals. In the meantime though Ovechkin gets a chance to rest up for the grind ahead. Not just the road to 700 but beyond.