Hawks no match for Ovechkin, Capitals in 7-3 drubbing
Alex Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to reach 800 career goals by notching a hat trick during Washington's 7-3 victory over the Blackhawks at the United Center on Tuesday.
Ovechkin scored just 24 seconds into the contest on an easy tap-in, then scored in similar fashion less than eight minutes later to put Washington up 2-0.
The Capitals' superstar put his name in the history books by sweeping in a rebound past Hawks goaltender Petr Mrazek at 6:34 of the third period.
The game was stopped for about five minutes as the Hawks' ice crew cleaned up hats that flew from the stands. Ovechkin acknowledged the cheering crowd as his accomplishment was broadcast by PA announcer Gene Honda.
"I give the credit to Chicago," said Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. "It's amazing how fans love him. I want to thank them for that. Because he may not say anything, but it means a lot."
Ovechkin now has 20 goals on the season.
During the stoppage in play it was interesting that Hawks players did not acknowledge the accomplishment in some way. When milestones like this are reached, it's not unusual to see the opposing team give stick taps to the ice.
Hawks D-man Connor Murphy explained the pain of the last goal likely led to their muted response.
"It was hard because ... we fell apart in our game," Murphy said. "So we were all frustrated with ourselves. Obviously no ill will toward him. That moment of the game, it's the third period and we gave up another goal to put the game out of reach. We're all more in our own heads about own mistakes and not so much what was happening."
Tyler Johnson, who was playing for the first time in six weeks after suffering an ankle injury in October, scored a late first-period goal to cut Washington's lead to 2-1. Jonathan Toews (9) and Max Domi (10) also scored for the Hawks, who have lost 12 of 13.
Slap shots:
The Blackhawks assigned Filip Roos to Rockford on Tuesday. The 23-year-old defenseman had a goal and 2 assists in 15 games. ... Hawks prospects Colton Dach, Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan del Mastro were chosen to represent the United States in the World Juniors Championship. The tournament will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick from Dec. 26 through Jan 5.