DETROIT — Alex Ovechkin won’t be returning the few hats that hit the ice in Detroit, even if he’s had more impressive three-goal games.
“A hat trick is a hat trick,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how you get them.”
Ovechkin completed this trick with two empty-net goals in the closing seconds of the Washington Capitals‘ 5-2 win over Detroit on Saturday night. It was the Red Wings’ ninth straight loss.
Ovechkin reached 20 goals for the 15th consecutive season to start his career, a feat previously achieved by Marcel Dionne, Mike Gartner, Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin.