Ovechkin’s hat trick and Thompson’s 40 saves lead Capitals to 5-2 win over Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored three goals Sunday night to continue his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career record, and former Golden Knight Logan Thompson saved 40 shots in his first game back at T-Mobile Arena as the Washington Capitals beat Vegas 5-2.

Jakob Chychrun and Jakub Vrana also scored goals for the Capitals, and Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas each had two assists.

Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar scored for the Golden Knights, and Ilya Samsonov stopped 20 shots.

Ovechkin now has 866 goals, 29 from surpassing The Great One as the NHL career leader. It was his 31st career hat trick and his 176th career multigoal game, behind only Gretzky’s 189. Ovechkin also extended his record to 315 power-play goals.

Both goals also were his first against former Capitals goalie Samsonov.

The Golden Knights played a video tribute to Thompson, who played for the club from 2021-24, midway through the first period. He appeared emotional as the crowd roared, repeatedly tapping his heart.

Vegas’ loss left coach Bruce Cassidy still one victory shy of 400.

Takeaways

Capitals: Thompson is 2-0 against his former team this season, saving 64 of 68 shots.

Golden Knights: Jack Eichel extended his point streak to six games. He has two goals and 10 assists over that stretch.

Key moment

Showing he’s not simply an offensive player, Ovechkin saved a goal in the second period when he got his stick on Ivan Barbashev’s open-net shot. That allow the Capitals to remain in front 3-2.

Key stat

The Capitals were winless in six previous regular-season trips to T-Mobile before this game. Washington, of course, won the 2018 Stanley Cup in this arena.

Up next

The Capitals visit Utah on Monday to conclude three-game road swing. The Golden Knights visit Toronto on Wednesday to open five-game road trip.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl