CHICAGO — Alex Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals when he had a hat trick for the Washington Capitals in a 7-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Tuesday.
Ovechkin scored his 798th goal just 24 seconds into the first period to make it 1-0. He then scored no. 799 with a power-play goal near the left post to make it 2-0 at 8:14 before reaching the milestone at 6:34 of the third period by getting to a loose puck and shooting into an open net to extend the lead to 5-2.
“It was great,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, the first couple goals were good bounces, and the third one [Anthony Mantha] gave me a nice pass and I just had to put it in. The puck was on my curve, so I knew I just had to put it up and it’s in.
“It’s a huge number. It’s the best company you can ever imagine since you started playing hockey to be connected to Gordie (Howe). Eight hundred, I’m the third person who ever scored that many goals. So without my teammates, without the organization, the fans, my family, I would never get that number and I would never talk to you right now about those numbers.”
Video: WSH@CHI: Ovechkin gets hat trick for 800th goal
Ovechkin, who has seven goals in his past four games, is one goal behind Howe for second in league history, and 94 behind Wayne Gretzky for first.
“You know what? It was awesome,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was just awesome to be on the bench and be a part of it, be a part of history. You work with somebody every day and they reach such an incredible milestone, it’s an unbelievable accomplishment.
“Yeah, we said it after the game. That’s an incredible accomplishment. When somebody has a career where they can get 200 goals, that’s a heck of a career. But 800 is something and I think everybody is just really happy for him.”
Mantha had a goal and an assist, and Charlie Lindgren made 26 saves for Washington (15-12-4), which has won five straight.
Petr Mrazek, who was playing his first game since Dec. 3 because of a groin injury, made 23 saves for Chicago (7-16-4), which has lost five in a row (outscored 16-4) and 12 of 13 (1-11-1).
“Obviously, pretty incredible milestone. One of a kind,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “In some sense, when we’re out of this moment, it’s one of those things you’ll look back on. He’s one of the great players of all time, so all due respect to him in scoring three goals to do it, getting himself an ovation and the ‘Ovi’ chant in our building.
“Aside from the milestone, it didn’t feel great on our side, but lots of respect for him.”
After Ovechkin gave the Capitals an early 2-0 lead, Tyler Johnson cut it to 2-1 at 19:00 of the first period from the low slot. Johnson was playing his first game since Oct. 25 because of an ankle injury.
“Obviously, it’s always better when you’re playing games,” Johnson said. “I’m not a big fan of being out. It was nice to be back with the guys, but obviously not quite the result we wanted.”
Video: WSH@CHI: Toews scores PPG in 2nd period
Trevor van Riemsdyk made it 3-1 at 4:56 of the second period, shooting into an open net off a rebound of Ovechkin’s shot.
Toews cut it to 3-2 at 11:38 when his backhand deflected in off Dmitry Orlov on the power play.
Nic Dowd put the Capitals ahead 4-2 at 17:18. He scored from the slot off a pass Garnet Hathawaywho kept control of the puck after he failed to convert on a 2-on-1 Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
Ovechkin’s 800th goal extended the lead to 5-2 before Mantha made it 6-2 at 8:59 of the third period on a wrist shot from the left circle.
Ovechkin praised the Chicago crowd for applauding the milestone.
“That’s great, cheering my name, throw their hats,” he said. “Even in the warmup, I was feeling that energy right away. The fans watch me and the fans want to see those historical moments.”
Max Domi made it 6-3 at 18:51, but Orlov scored 33 seconds later for the 7-3 final.
“I thought we battled back,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “I thought there were a couple of lucky bounces, and it’s Ovechkin. He scores on those and he makes you pay on those. But we fought back to 2-1 and then 3-2.
“Petr gave us a chance. He made a save, but then we backchecked. I thought we backchecked a little too much, kind of focusing on guys like Ovechkin and [Evgeny] Kuznetsov. Their forwards are creative, but we gave up the back weakside a couple times tonight. It cost us the fourth and maybe even the third goal.”
NOTES: Ovechkin was playing in his 1,305th regular-season game. Howe scored his 800th goal in his 1,748th NHL game, and Gretzky scored his 800th in his 1,116th game. … It was Ovechkin’s 29th NHL hat trick, moving him ahead of Marcel Dionne and Bobby Hull for sixth in League history. His third goal was also his 20th of the season, making him the third player in NHL history to score at least 20 goals in 18 consecutive seasons, joining Howe (22) and Brendan Shanahan (19). … Capitals forward Lars Eller missed the game because of an upper-body injury.
Video: WSH@CHI: Ovechkin nets historic hat trick in 7-3 win
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