Alex Ovechkin scored three goals in the first period Saturday, his second hat trick in the past two periods over two games for the Washington Capitals this season.
The left wing scored at 20 seconds, 2:51 and 18:10 on Carey Price to help Washington take a 4-0 lead against the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals won 6-1 . It was the fourth time Ovechkin scored a hat trick in one period, which he also did scoring three times in the third period of a 5-4 shootout win against the Ottawa Senators in the season opener on Thursday. Ovechkin scored his fourth goal of the game at 16:46. He is the first player to have a hat trick in consecutive games to start an NHL season since 1917-18 , when Cy Denneny , Joe Malone and Reg Noble each did so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was Ovechkin's 19th NHL hat trick, tying Peter Bondra for the Capitals record, and he passed Mike Modano , Mats Sundin and Joe Nieuwendyk to reach 22nd in NHL history with 565 goals. Last season, he scored 33 goals, his fewest in a full season since 2011-12, when he scored 32.
