{"id":157232,"date":"2022-12-14T05:19:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T05:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/hat-trick-gives-capitals-captain-ovechkin-800-career-goals\/"},"modified":"2022-12-14T05:19:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T05:19:00","slug":"hat-trick-gives-capitals-captain-ovechkin-800-career-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/hat-trick-gives-capitals-captain-ovechkin-800-career-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Hat trick gives Capitals captain Ovechkin 800 career goals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the 800th goal of his career on Tuesday, becoming the third player in NHL history — behind Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe — to reach the milestone.<\/p>\n

He also became the first to do it with a single franchise, and it came as part of a hat trick performance in a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

“This … it’s huge. It’s huge for hockey, it’s huge for the organization,” a drained Ovechkin told his teammates in the locker room after the win. “And to do it with you guys, it’s special.”<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old left wing tallied his historic marker in the third period of his 1,305th game of his career. It was also Ovechkin’s 20th goal this season, giving him an 18th consecutive campaigns with at least 20. Only Brendan Shanahan (19 straight) and Howe (22) have accomplished the same feat.<\/p>\n

Tuesday also marked the 162nd multi-goal game of Ovechkin’s career, which trails only Gretzky’s mark of 189 games. He picked up his first two of the night in the opening period.<\/p>\n

“It’s a special night. To get two goals right away, I could feel the game,” Ovechkin said on ESPN’s SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt after the game. “I’m really proud that it’s over. Now, we can move on and focus on the next one.”<\/p>\n

In the first period, Ovechkin scored his 136th game-opening goal of his career, breaking an all-time tie with Jaromir Jagr in that category.<\/p>\n