Alex Ovechkin had his 30th career hat trick as the Caps went up 9-2 against the Habs. There is a time and a place for this.
Alex Ovechkin moved a few steps closer to Wayne Gretzky's NHL goal record by scoring against the Montreal Habs.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin recorded his 30th career hat trick, Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves against his first NHL team, and the Caps routed Montreal 9-2 on Saturday.
In each of his 18 NHL seasons, Ovi has scored at least 24 goals. He played in only 24 games in 2020.
When asked if he enjoys playing against the Habs, he replied, "No, I just enjoy playing hockey." The game was enjoyable for him and the Caps.
Even though he has three more career goals, he is still 88 back of the all time record of 884 by Gretzky. He has scored six times in four games to reach 26 this season, which is one more than "The Great One."
In winning for the ninth time in his past 10 starts, Lindgren made a number of key stops, including stopping Nick Suzuki on a break. In two games against the organization he spent his first five professional seasons with, Lindgren has never lost against them.
"They got some chances, but I thought we did a great job countering and putting the puck in the net as well," he said. I have a lot of respect for the players there. It definitely feels better to beat your old team.
The Caps did not allow a single goal through the first and second periods. On their seventh goal, multiple Washington players did laps aroundMontreal defenders before Marcus Johansson scored.
There were three goals in the first, two in the second and a power-play goal by Dylan Strome in the third. Washington has won 11 of 13 and should be getting reinforcements soon in the form of forwards Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, who are close to returning from injuries.
The way the Caps played in December shows how good they are, said Gustafsson, who has six goals and six assists during the seven-game point streak. We have a fun stretch here if we can keep this going.
Cole Caufield scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season for the Habs. He's the first Montreal player to score 20 goals in 37 games since Martin Rucinsky and Brian Savage.
"He's pretty good," Lindgren said. He's a great hockey player.
The coach took some blame for leaving Allen in the game.
St. Louis said he might have helped him out. I was past the point of no return when they got to nine with four minutes to go. This is a learning experience for me as a coach.
The Buffalo Sabres will be the opponent for the final game of the homestand.
The AP contributed.
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