Alex Ovechkin’s 34th hat trick seals 4th place in NHL record books

Alex Ovechkin delivered another milestone night, scoring his 34th career hat trick as the Washington Capitals beat the Utah Mammoth 7-4 on Thursday. Now his career total is at 926 goals and counting as he continues to create a new N H L regular-season goal record.

Ovechkin scored three goals on five shots and finished with a rating of 3 in a dominant display. His feat moved him past Brett Hull (33 hat tricks ) in the all-time list, placing him behind legends like Wayne Gretzky (50 hat tricks), Mario Lemieux (40 hat tricks), and Mike Bossy (39 hat tricks).

The NHL recognised the moment on X, writing, “Alex Ovechkin now has the fourth most hat tricks in NHL history!

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The Capitals had to fight back after trailing 3-1 in the first period. Ovechkin led the charge in the second, scoring twice to erase the deficit. Anthony Beauvillier and Rasmus Sandin added much-needed third-period goals, while Ivan Miroshnichenko scored twice, including his first of the season.

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Utah started strong with goals from Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, and MacKenzie Weegar. However, they could not stop Washington’s six-goal surge in the final two periods.

Ovechkin sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final seconds, completing his hat trick against his 21st different NHL team, a league record.

Ovechkin now has five goals in his last five games, showing strong form late in the season.

The Russian forward has 29 goals and 56 points in 73 appearances this season. He stands one goal away from his 20th 30-goal campaign, which would extend his own NHL record.

Washington will look to carry momentum into their next game in Vegas on Saturday.

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