Alex Ovechkin had another legendary performance in one of his favorite barns in hockey.
At Bell Centre, Ovechkin scored once against Sam Montembeault, once against Jakub Dobes, and once on an empty net to notch his 33rd career hat trick in the Washington Capitals’ 8-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
The goals were Ovechkin’s 905th, 906th, and 907th goals of his career. Ovechkin, at age 40 and 64 days, is the sixth-oldest player to score a hat trick.
During his big night, he also broke the NHL record for most career goals against an NHL goaltender, passing Wayne Gretzky. He also entered the NHL’s top 10 in career points.
Dobes is the 185th different NHL goaltender Ovechkin has scored on, extending his NHL record there as well.
Alex Ovechkin’s 33rd career hat trick
Goal 1 (Career goal no. 905)
Ovechkin’s first goal of the game came off a Dylan Strome faceoff win, a minute into the game. Two seconds after Juraj Slafkovský went to the box for high-sticking Aliaksei Protas, The Great 8 sent a snap shot past Sam Montembeault, far side, to put the Capitals up 1-0. The power-play goal extended his PPG record to 327.
Goal 2 (Career goal no. 906)
Ovechkin’s second goal of the night came on a two-on-one break with Strome. The Caps’ first-line center sent a pass to Ovi on the right wing, who quickly fired a shot short side past Dobes.
Hat-trick goal (Career goal no. 907)
Ovi’s hat trick goal came on an empty net from 153 feet away in the defensive zone. Right down the middle of the ice. What a mensch.
On the night, Ovechkin had four points (3g, 1a) and scored on all three of his shots in 15:35 of ice time. He had six individual shot attempts at all strengths.
“Yeah, I think right now we kind of start clicking,” Ovechkin said postgame to Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “You can see we hold the puck in the zone, created chances for everybody. And obviously if you feel it and you have the confidence, of course you’re gonna put it in.”
The hat trick marks Ovechkin’s fourth career hatty against Montreal and the first at Bell Centre
“Yeah, it’s a great place to play hockey,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, media, fans, it’s very special.”
All of Alex Ovechin’s hat tricks
| No. | Date | Opp | Goals | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 13, 2006 | @ | ANA | 3 | 3-2 |
| 2 | December 15, 2006 | @ | ATL | 3 | 3-2 |
| 3 | December 29, 2007 | @ | OTT | 4 | 8-6 |
| 4 | January 31, 2008 | MTL | 4 | 5-4 | |
| 5 | March 3, 2008 | BOS | 3 | 10-2 | |
| 6 | November 26, 2008 | ATL | 3 | 5-3 | |
| 7 | February 1, 2009 | OTT | 3 | 7-4 | |
| 8 | February 15, 2009 | @ | FLA | 3 | 4-2 |
| 9 | February 7, 2010 | PIT | 3 | 5-4 | |
| 10 | January 22, 2011 | @ | TOR | 3 | 4-1 |
| 11 | February 23, 2013 | NJD | 3 | 5-1 | |
| 12 | April 6, 2013 | @ | FLA | 3 | 4-3 |
| 13 | December 10, 2013 | TBL | 4 | 6-5 | |
| 14 | February 11, 2016 | @ | MIN | 3 | 4-3 |
| 15 | April 9, 2016 | @ | STL | 3 | 5-1 |
| 16 | November 23, 2016 | STL | 3 | 4-3 | |
| 17 | March 28, 2017 | @ | MIN | 3 | 5-4 |
| 18 | October 5, 2017 | @ | OTT | 3 | 5-4 |
| 19 | October 7, 2017 | MTL | 4 | 6-1 | |
| 20 | November 25, 2017 | @ | TOR | 3 | 4-2 |
| 21 | December 11, 2018 | DET | 3 | 6-2 | |
| 22 | December 14, 2018 | @ | CAR | 3 | 6-5 |
| 23 | January 22, 2019 | SJS | 3 | 6-7 | |
| 24 | November 30, 2019 | @ | DET | 3 | 5-2 |
| 25 | January 16, 2020 | NJD | 3 | 5-2 | |
| 26 | January 18, 2020 | @ | NYI | 3 | 6-4 |
| 27 | February 4, 2020 | LAK | 3 | 4-2 | |
| 28 | November 26, 2021 | FLA | 3 | 4-3 | |
| 29 | December 13, 2022 | @ | CHI | 3 | 7-3 |
| 30 | December 31, 2022 | MTL | 3 | 9-2 | |
| 31 | November 17, 2024 | @ | VGK | 3 | 5-2 |
| 32 | February 23, 2025 | EDM | 3 | 7-3 | |
| 33 | November 20, 2025 | @ | MTL | 3 | 8-4 |
