Capitals forward Dmitrij Jaskin was inches away from scoring a hat trick in the Czech Republic’s 8-0 beatdown of Italy.

Jaskin scored the Czech Republic’s fifth and seventh goals and also registered a primary assist on a fluke tally by Radko Gudas.

“Well, you know, it’s always nice to score,” Jaskin said after the game. “It finally came. Everybody is going to feel a little better about themselves after the game.”

The Czech Republic improved to 4-1 in the tournament and are tied for first in Group B.

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Jaskin’s first goal of the tournament came after Filip Chytil found him with a backhanded pass just outside the crease. The 26-year-old Russian-born Czech then beat goaltender Marco de Filippo blocker side.

Jaskin scored again in the third, unleashing a perfectly placed wrist shot off the water bottle. That is NASTY.

Finally, with seconds left in the game, the left winger got his stick on a rebound, but it got swept away at the goal line by an Italian defender.

“I missed on it a little bit and it was too slow and they pushed it out,” Jaskin said. “Maybe he saved me one for next game.”

Jaskin also assisted on a Radko Gudas goal scored from the red line. The Flyers defenseman bounced a slap shot into the net.

Fellow Capitals forward Jakub Vrana went scoreless.

Meanwhile, Italy has been outscored 38-0 in the first five games of the tournament.

Headline photo: IIHF