May 4: Crosby, Ovechkin get matching hat tricks

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: May 4
2009: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals take their rivalry to a new level when each scores three goals in
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
.

After tying the game early in the second period, Ovechkin powers the Capitals to a 4-3 victory by completing his hat trick with two goals in a span of 2:29 in the third period. His power-play goal at 12:53 puts Washington ahead 3-2, and his shot through a screen and over the glove of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 13:22 makes it 4-2, triggering a deluge of hats.
However, the 18,277 fans at Verizon Center can't celebrate just yet. Crosby makes it 4-3 and completes his hat trick by scoring with 30.4 seconds remaining, giving him a goal in each period.
"It's good for the fans to see great players play against each other and two great teams play against each other," Ovechkin says. "It's an interesting time and an interesting game. It's unbelievable when you play against great players and you win a game like this."

MORE MOMENTS
1969: The Montreal Canadiens complete their second straight sweep in the Stanley Cup Final by
defeating the St. Louis Blues 2-1
in Game 4 at St. Louis Arena.
Ted Harris
and
John Ferguson
score in the first 3:03 of the third period, and goalie
Rogie Vachon
makes 32 saves. The Canadiens limit the Blues to three goals in four games. Montreal's
Serge Savard
wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, becoming the first defenseman to win the award.
1972: The New York Rangers win their first Stanley Cup Final game at Madison Square Garden since 1940 by
defeating the Boston Bruins 5-2
in Game 3. Defenseman
Brad Park
scores two goals and has two assists for the Rangers, who haven't played a home game in the Final since April 3, 1940. In the 1950 Final, New York's two "home" games are played at Toronto and the rest of the series is held in Detroit while the Garden hosts the circus.
1976:
Reggie Leach
ties a playoff record held by
Maurice Richard
by scoring a goal in his eighth straight Stanley Cup Playoff game, helping the
Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Bruins 4-2
in Game 4 of the Semifinals at Boston Garden.
Bobby Clarke
sets up Leach for the tying goal 23 seconds into the second period, and third-period goals by
Orest Kindrachuk
and
Joe Watson
put the Flyers ahead 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.
1991:
Petr Klima
scores three goals for a natural hat trick in a 5:13 span in the first period, helping the Edmonton Oilers
defeat the Minnesota North Stars
7-2 at Northlands Coliseum in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Final. It's the fastest playoff hat trick in Oilers history.

1997:
Mike Richter
becomes the Rangers' all-time playoff shutout leader by making 32 saves in a
2-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils
at Continental Airlines Arena in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It's Richter's eighth career playoff shutout, moving him past
Dave Kerr
. Rangers captain
Mark Messier
plays in his 228th postseason game, passing
Larry Robinson
for the most in NHL history.
2000:
Keith Primeau
scores at 12:01 of the fifth overtime to give the Flyers a
2-1 victory against the Penguins
in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series at Mellon Arena. Primeau, dropped from the top line two days earlier because of a lack of production, beats goalie
Ron Tugnutt
on the 130th shot of the night to end the longest NHL game in 64 years. The game ends at 2:35 a.m. ET, about seven hours after the opening face-off.

2011:
Devin Setoguchi
completes a hat trick by scoring 9:21 into overtime, giving the San Jose Sharks a
4-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings
at Joe Louis Arena in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. After Sharks defenseman
Dan Boyle
ties the game with 4:08 remaining in the third period, Setoguchi takes a penalty to give the Red Wings a power play in overtime. But San Jose kills the penalty, and Setoguchi makes amends by taking a pass from Joe Thornton and beating Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard for the win.
2013:
Mike Green
scores a power-play goal at 8:00 of overtime to give the Capitals a
1-0 victory against the Rangers
at Verizon Center in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. It's the sixth time in playoff history that a defenseman scores the goal in a 1-0 win.
Exactly two years later, the Capitals again
defeat the Rangers 1-0
, this time in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on a second-period goal by
Jay Beagle
.
2018:The Vegas Golden Knights score the game's first four goals, then
hold off the San Jose Sharks 5-3
in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena.
Alex Tuch
scores twice for Vegas, which moves within one victory of winning its first two playoff series.
2019:David Pastrnak scores with 1:28 remaining in the third period to give the Boston Bruins a
4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets
at TD Garden in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. Pastrnak's game-winner caps a third period that sees the teams combine for six goals, including four in a span of 3:25.