Ovechkin's 34th career hat trick powers Capitals past Mammoth, 7-4

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin takes a shot during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

By JOHN COON Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alex Ovechkin had his 34th career hat trick, Ivan Miroshnichenko scored twice, and the Washington Capitals beat the Utah Mammoth 7-4 on Thursday night to snap a two-game losing streak.

Anthony Beauvillier and Rasmus Sandin also scored for the Capitals, while Logan Thompson made 35 stops for Washington, which scored four unanswered goals after falling behind 3-1.

Ovechkin now has the fourth most hat tricks in NHL history and set a league record with a hat trick against his 21st different team.

Dylan Guenther scored twice for Utah. Logan Cooley and MacKenzie Weegar added a goal apiece and Vitek Vanecek made 17 saves for the Mammoth, who have dropped six of their last seven games at home.

Miroshnichenko’s first goal of the season at the 2:07 mark of the first period gave the Capitals the early lead. Jakob Chychrun sent the puck back to a trailing Miroshnichenko and he scored on a long-distance slap shot.

Guenther scored on a power play with 6:56 left in the first off a feed from Clayton Keller to make it 1-1. Guenther put Utah ahead with 3:01 remaining, threading in a perfectly timed backhander also set up by Keller.

Cooley extended the lead with 5.4 seconds left in the first with a power-play goal.

Ovechkin erased the deficit in the second. He scored his first at the 5:01 mark of the period when he tipped in a puck in traffic and equalized with 8:32 left in the second, chipping the puck under the crossbar.

Beauvillier’s tip-in put Washington ahead 4-3 at the 2:43 mark of the third. Sandin made it a two-goal lead at 6:02 when he caught Vanecek out of position and threaded the puck between two defenders.

Weegar pulled Utah back within one just two minutes later, but Miroshnichenko restored a two-goal lead at the 9:54 mark.

Ovechkin completed the hat trick with an empty-netter with 5.2 seconds left.

Up next

Capitals: at Vegas on Saturday.

Mammoth: at Los Angeles on Saturday.

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This story has been updated to correct that Ovechkin has 34 career hat tricks, not 29

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