Capitals dominate Canadiens behind Alex Ovechkin hat trick
The Washington Capitals got back on the winning track with a 9-2 rout over the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and he wasn’t the only one who could score this afternoon.
Erik Gustafsson got things started 32 seconds in set up by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Conor Sheary for his sixth goal of the season.
Garnet Hathaway doubled the lead at 4:32 assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Nic Dowd for his fourth goal of the season.
2-0 was the score after one with the Habs leading in shots 13-9.
In the second period Cole Caufield scored on the power play to put the Canadiens on the board but that was the closest they were going to get.
Nic Dowd made it 3-0 with his ninth goal of the season with Protas and Gustafsson providing the helpers.
At 9:06 Ovechkin began to take over. He had a snipe assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Lars Eller for his first of three goals on another historic day for the great eight.
Caufield added his second goal of the game 12:39. Dylan Strome made it 5-2 with Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson helping out with the power play tally.
That would be the score after two with the Caps leading in shots 13-12 in the second period.
Ovechkin scored his second goal of the game on a power play from the office at 1:22. It was assisted by Gustafsson and Johansson.
Marcus Johansson made it a touchdown and an extra point at 5:31. It was assisted by Kuznetsov and Martin Fehervary in his first game back since earlier in the month from injury. It was MoJo’s 10th of the season.
At 15:43 the Caps made it 8-2 on a breakaway goal from Anthony Mantha for his ninth goal of the season.
Ovechkin completed the hat trick at 16:35 assisted by Conor Sheary. It was his 26th goal of the season and 806th of his career. He’s now 88 goals away from Wayne Gretzky.
9-2 would be the final. Charlie Lindgren got the win with 31 saves. The Caps outshot the Habs 18-8 in the third period and 40-33 overall.
light. More. Capitals fall to Senators in overtime after blowing 3-1 lead
The Caps will host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday January 3rd. Happy New Year Caps fans!