We don’t know whether this will be Alex Ovechkin’s final season as a Washington Capital or not, but there’s never a bad time to reflect back on two decades of being treated to this amazing talent. So each game day throughout the 2025-26 season, we’re going to be picking an Ovechkin moment to remember against that day’s opponent as we look back at an incredible career.
Hat Trick to Tie Yzerman – January 18, 2020
On January 16, 2020, Alex Ovechkin took on the New Jersey Devils and promptly put up a three-spot; two nights later in Long Island, he was at it again.
Ovechkin’s first goal of the evening not only put the Caps on top 1-0 over the Islanders, but went into the books as his 690th goal, which tied Mario Lemieux for 10th all time. That tie would be short-lived, though; down 4-2 early in the third, Ovechkin brought his team within one to take over sole possession of that 10th spot. Then, after a Tom Wilson goal to tie the game and a Jakub Vrana go-ahead goal, it was Ovechkin’s empty-netter that sealed the hat trick and moved him into a tie with Steve Yzerman at 692 goals.
Ovechkin’s hat trick was the 26th of his career, tying Maurice Richard for ninth all-time in that category, as well; it also marked the third time in his career in which he had hat tricks in consecutive team games, tying Wayne Gretzky for second-most (Joe Malone did it four times in his career).