Justin Sourdif had another career first against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
Sourdif recorded his first career hat trick. And in doing so, he became the first Capitals rookie to record a hatty since Alex Ovechkin did so against the Ducks in 2006.
The goals were the 7th, 8th, and 9th of Sourdif’s career, and he added an assist on a Ryan Leonard goal and another on an Ovechkin goal to give him his first career five-point game. The 23-year-old forward now has 18 points (9g, 9a) in 41 games this season.
Justin Sourdif’s first NHL hat trick
Sourdif’s first goal
Sourdif’s first goal of the game came after Matt Roy popped the puck up in the air into Anaheim’s zone from behind his own blue line. Connor McMichael corralled the loose biscuit and laid a perfect drop pass to a hard-charging Sourdif. Sourdif picked the puck up and, in the same motion, ripped it over goaltender Petr Mrazek’s blocker and stick.
Sourdif’s second goal
Sourdif’s second goal of the night came on a rush up the ice just 3:02 after his first strike. Sourdif ripped a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle in Anaheim’s zone, beating Mrazek high to the glove side.
Sourdif’s first assist
Sourdif notched his first helper after winning a battle behind Anaheim’s net and jamming the puck free to Leonard at the side of the cage. Leonard then banked a shot off Mrazek from below the goal line.
Sourdif’s hat-trick goal
To complete his hat trick, Sourdif crashed the net and finished off a beautiful passing play by his linemates Leonard and Connor McMichael. McMichael registered an assist on all three of Sourdif’s goals.
Sourdif’s second assist
Sourdif’s final point of the game came with the Capitals up 6-4 and just 41.4 seconds remaining in regulation. He punched a loose puck up the boards to Ovechkin, who buried it into an empty net from the Capitals’ zone.
According to the Capitals, Sourdif’s hat trick in just 11:34 of game time made him the third-fastest player to notch three goals for the team since the 2010-11 season. The only two Capitals players to have scored a faster hat trick are Alex Ovechkin (2x; fastest: 4:24 on 2/4/20) and Alex Semin (4:29 on 11/26/10).
Capitals’ all-time rookie hat tricks
| Player | Date |
|---|---|
| Justin Sourdif | Jan. 5, 2026 |
| Alex Ovechkin | Jan. 13, 2006 |
| Jaroslav Svejkovsky | Apr, 13, 1997 |
| Peter Bondra | Nov. 28, 1990 |
| Chris Valentine | Feb. 27, 1982 |
| Bobby Carpenter | Feb. 25, 1982 |
| Mark Lofthouse | Dec. 9, 1978 |
| Tony White | Feb. 21, 1976 |
| Hartland Monahan | Nov. 12, 1975 |
| Tony White | Oct. 26, 1975 |
Sourdif’s five-point game is his third multi-point effort in his last four games. He is now a point-per-game player over his last 10 games, recording 11 points (5g, 6a). Among all Capitals skaters this season, Sourdif’s five multi-point games are tied with Aliaksei Protas for the fifth most among Capitals forwards, behind just Tom Wilson (11), Ovechkin (10), Dylan Strome (7), and McMichael (7).
With the huge night, Sourdif also became the second-ever Caps rookie to have a five-point game, joining defenseman Greg Theberge (Nov. 21, 1981). He is just the fifth Capitals rookie to record four points or more in a game since 2005-06. The others on that list include Nicklas Backstrom (3), Ovechkin (2), Leonard (1), and Tomas Fleischmann (1).
Sourdif centered the team’s second line against the Ducks with McMichael and Leonard on his wings. The three forwards combined to record 10 points (4g, 6a) in the first two periods.
