Washington broke a three-game losing streak by beating Toronto at home. Thanks to a big victory over the Leafs (4:0), the Capitals moved up to second place in the East. But even after a fairly high-quality game against the Canadian club, it’s difficult to forget about the unsuccessful period of Spencer Carbury’s team. To put the short slump behind us, they need to beat Detroit in their next game at Capital One Arena.

The Red Wings are a serious contender, leading the Atlantic Division and sitting in third place in the conference. In such matches it is necessary for the leaders to take charge of the game, but the Capitals have slight problems with this: captain Alexander Ovechkin has not scored for six games in a row. It’s time for the Russian to break the dry streak and help the team. Moreover, he already had matches in his career when he almost single-handedly beat Detroit.

“God, what a throw he has!”

In the 2018/19 season, Washington played as the defending champion. And although the opponents had a special attitude towards the Capitals, the capital team before the home match with Detroit, which took place on December 11, had a streak of 11 matches with points. Ovechkin was also in excellent shape: the Russian forward did not leave the ice without scoring points during this period, scoring “10+5” during this period.

The Russian continued to improve his statistics in the first period. With the score 2:0 in favor of the hosts, Alexander threw one touch, but the click didn’t really work: the puck flew past the goal, and then hit the visiting defender and bounced into the goal. The curious goal made Ovechkin laugh, who until recently did not believe that he would be able to score.

— I threw poorly, hit Kronwall’s pad, and the puck flew into the goal. But sometimes you have to score goals like this. The main thing here is to threaten the goal, because without shots there are no goals,” Ovechkin noted.

Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © Rob Carr / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

After the break, Washington’s dominance continued. And in the middle of the game, the home captain distinguished himself again. This time, the Russian organized a 2-on-1 approach: Alexander did not aim the pass to TJ Oshie, but took the game upon himself and almost broke Jonathan Bernier’s goal net with a powerful wrist shot. Considering that the Capitals leader fired from a lethal position, Bernier had no chance to prevent his opponent from scoring.

After 61 seconds, another Russian, Evgeny Kuznetsov, scored an effective action. Washington’s center forward assisted Oshie on the power play, scoring an assist double – 5:0. Before the start of the third period, there was perhaps only one intrigue – whether Ovechkin would be able to score a hat-trick. Considering the big score, there was no hope for a goal into an empty net.

But Alexander didn’t need an easy puck: he scored in a 5-on-5 game. In the 50th minute, the striker hit the near corner with a one-touch throw from the top of the left throw-in circle. The Russian scored a hat-trick in just 19 minutes 38 seconds that he spent on the ice! Ovechkin’s focus on results impressed even his rivals, who sincerely admired his sniper abilities.

“This is a player who, thanks to his shot, comes up with something every time he gets the puck on his hook. This is a smart hockey player, just a bull on the ice. God, what a throw he has! — Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader was quoted by the official NHL website.

Thanks to three goals from Ovechkin, Washington eventually achieved a big victory – 6:2. Fans of the capital’s club hope that Alexander will also be able to please with an effective performance in the upcoming meeting between the Capitals and the Red Wings. At the same time, even just one goal from a Russian will make the fans happy.