Ovechkin has hat trick to move 13 away from breaking Gretzky's goals record as Capitals beat Oilers

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The Capitals earned a 7-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid on Sunday, allowing them to regain the top spot in the league standings.

Ovechkin beat Calvin Pickard cleanly with a wrist shot just before the midpoint of the second period off a pass from his linemate, Dylan Strome, for his first goal of the game. He scored his second on the power play 10 minutes later and netted the puck into the empty net with 2:38 left for his third.

A few weeks ago, with his 134th game-winning goal, he also tied Jagr for the most in NHL history.

Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Connor McMichael, and Strome also scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for the Capitals, who won consecutive matinee games over the break in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. They outscored the Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins by a combined total of 15-6.

The Oilers lost their third game in a row, dating back to before the break, even though Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 42nd goal of the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner scored in the third period, but it was too late, as the game had already gotten out of hand. Pickard gave up six goals on 32 shots.

Takeaways

The Edmonton Oilers' road trip has gotten off to a tough beginning, and things aren't looking up anytime soon.

It's time to acknowledge that they are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Key moment

Ovechkin one-timed a pass from Chychrun past Pickard late in the second period to get the floodgates open.

Key stat

Strome has helped Ovechkin score on 16 of his 29 goals this season.

Up next

The Oilers are playing a game on Tuesday in Tampa Bay, the same evening the Capitals are hosting Calgary.

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