Alex Ovechkin has hat trick, Capitals rout Canadiens 9-2
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick to lead the Washington Capitals to a 9-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin has scored six goals in his past four games to move to 88 back of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves for Washington against the team he broke into the league with. Marcus Johansson also had two goals and Erik Gustafsson, Garnet Hathaway, Nic Dowd, Dylan Strome, Marcus Johansson and Anthony Mantha also scored for the Capitals, who have won 11 of 13. Former University of Wisconsin star Cole Caufield scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season for Montreal, which has lost five in a row.