With his hat-trick goal on Tuesday, Alex Ovechkin passed Peter Bondra for the Washington Capitals franchise record in power-play goals. Lest you think Bonzai would be a poor sport, the good folks at the Caps have provided video of Bondra’s congratulatory phone call to Alex after the game.

“Hey, Bonzai! What’s happening?”

We don’t know what was said on the other end of the phone, but there are some clues. It seems Bondra has talked goal-scoring with Ovechkin before, for example. “You just said I have to shoot the puck,” Ovi tells Bondra early on. Bondra said as much during the video aired after Ovi’s record-breaking goal.

Alex is one of the most prolific shooters in hockey history. His anomalous decline between 2010 and 2012 (the Ovechkin Warm Period, if you will) was signified by reduced shooting. Now, under coach Adam Oates– and with Bondra blowing up his celly– Ovechkin is shooting heavy again. He managed 6 shots on goal on Tuesday and has averaged 5.3 per game this season.

Later, Bondra seems to make mention of shooting for the cycle. Ovechkin joked back, “I didn’t play shorthanded!” Technically, that’s  not true. Ovechkin clocked two seconds on the ice while a man down on Tuesday. He failed to score, hence no phone call from Mario Lemieux.

Speaking with Mike Vogel afterward, Ovechkin really captured the bombast and hyperbole of his four-goal night, his 13th hat trick, and a massive comeback win: “It’s pretty cool.”

Pretty cool indeed.

Young Peter Bondra (Courtesy: Capitals)