Ovechkin scores hat-trick to lead Capitals to win over Oilers

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scores on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard during the second period of their NHL game on Feb. 23, 2025 in Washington. (Nick Wass/Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 880th, 881st and 882nd career goals to record a hat trick and move 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record and give the Washington Capitals a 7-3 victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, moving back atop the league standings.

Ovechkin beat Calvin Pickard clean with a wrist shot just before the midway mark of the second period off a pass from linemate Dylan Strome for his first of the game. He got his second on the power play 10 minutes later and put the puck into an empty net with 2:38 left for his third.

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Pickard became the 181st goaltender he has scored on, already the most of any player after Ovechkin broke Jaromir Jagr’s mark earlier last month. With his 134th game-winning goal, he also tied Jagr for the most in NHL history.

Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Connor McMichael and Strome also scored and Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for the Capitals, who won back-to-back matinees out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. They outscored the Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins 15-6.

The Oilers lost their third in a row dating to before the break, despite Leon Draisaitl scoring his league-leading 42nd goal this season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner scored in the third, long after the game got out of hand, and Pickard allowed six goals on 32 shots.

Takeaways

Oilers: The road trip is off to a rough start, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier from here.

Capitals: It’s time to say they are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Key moment

Ovechkin one-timed a pass from Chychrun past Pickard late in the second to open the floodgates.

Key stat

Strome has assisted on 16 of Ovechkin’s 29 goals this season.

Up next

The Oilers visit Tampa Bay on Tuesday, the same night the Capitals host Calgary.

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press