Alex Ovechkin registered his 32nd career hat trick in the Washington Capitals’ 7-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, Sunday.
After scoring twice in the second period, Ovechkin sent hats flying after scoring an empty-net goal from the defensive zone. Ovi nearly hit the dead center of the net from 139 feet away.
The tally came after the Oilers pulled their goaltender Calvin Pickard with 2:56 remaining. Eighteen seconds later, Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson shattered his stick on a slap shot attempt and the puck went directly to Ovechkin for an empty-net try.
“Obviously he’ll take it and it was a lucky, fortunate bounce” Dylan Strome said. “But i guess when you have 882 goals, you get those bounces.”
The unassisted empty-netter was Ovechkin’s 29th goal of the season, and came with 2:38 remaining in the third period. To celebrate, Ovi skated down to the offensive zone where he fist-bumped his six-year-old son Sergei through the glass for a third time in the game.
“It means a lot,” Ovechkin said to TNT after the game. “The kids love hockey. They know every player. Obviously, we play against one of the best teams in the league, two best players out there. It’s nice to get a win. It’s nice to get a couple goals, so yeah. I’m pretty sure they’re going to be happy.”
Ovechkin’s 882nd career goal sent what appears to be over a hundred hats onto the ice at Capital One Arena, putting the Capitals’ captain 13 tallies away from capturing the NHL’s all-time goals record.
Another Alex Ovechkin hat trick. Another couple wheelbarrows filled with hats. Wild. #Caps #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/DSncsApP1v
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) February 23, 2025
Ovechkin is now on pace to tie Wayne Gretzky’s goals record on April 1 at Boston and break it April 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The hat trick against the Oilers is the 39-year-old forward’s second this season. Ovechkin also scored three times against the Vegas Golden Knights on November 17, 2024. He is now tied with Phil Esposito for the fifth-most hat tricks in NHL history.
🎩 Hats off for Alex Ovechkin as the @Capitals captain ties Phil Esposito for 5th most NHL career hat tricks! pic.twitter.com/jYTXdn9R3Q
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) February 23, 2025
Ovechkin’s second goal of the day, a power-play strike in the second period, stood up as the game-winner, tying the Russian forward with Jaromir Jagr for the most of all time.
All of Alex Ovechin’s hat tricks
| No. | Date | Opponent | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan. 13, 2006 | @ANA | 3 |
| 2 | Dec. 15, 2006 | @ATL | 3 |
| 3 | Dec. 29, 2007 | @OTT | 4 |
| 4 | Jan. 31, 2008 | MTL | 4 |
| 5 | Mar. 3, 2008 | BOS | 3 |
| 6 | Nov. 26, 2008 | ATL | 3 |
| 7 | Feb. 1, 2009 | OTT | 3 |
| 8 | Feb. 15, 2009 | @FLA | 3 |
| 9 | Feb. 7, 2010 | PIT | 3 |
| 10 | Jan. 22, 2011 | @TOR | 3 |
| 11 | Feb. 23, 2013 | NJD | 3 |
| 12 | Apr. 6, 2013 | @FLA | 3 |
| 13 | Dec. 10, 2013 | TBL | 4 |
| 14 | Feb. 11, 2016 | MIN | 3 |
| 15 | Apr. 9, 2016 | @STL | 3 |
| 16 | Nov. 23, 2016 | STL | 3 |
| 17 | Mar. 28, 2017 | @MIN | 3 |
| 18 | Oct. 5, 2017 | @OTT | 3 |
| 19 | Oct. 7, 2017 | MTL | 4 |
| 20 | Nov. 25, 2017 | TOR | 3 |
| 21 | Dec. 11, 2018 | DET | 3 |
| 22 | Dec. 14, 2018 | @CAR | 3 |
| 23 | Jan. 22, 2019 | SJS | 3 |
| 24 | Nov. 30, 2019 | @DET | 3 |
| 25 | Jan. 16, 2020 | NJD | 3 |
| 26 | Jan. 18, 2020 | @NYI | 3 |
| 27 | Feb. 4, 2020 | LAK | 3 |
| 28 | Nov. 26, 2021 | FLA | 3 |
| 29 | Dec. 13, 2022 | @CHI | 3 |
| 30 | Dec. 31, 2022 | MTL | 3 |
| 31 | Nov. 17, 2024 | @VGK | 3 |
| 32 | Feb. 23, 2025 | EDM | 3 |
