When John Carlson made it 4-1 for Washington at the end of the first period, the Swedish goalkeeper Anton Forsberg was picked out, had then had 16 shots against him, out in favor of another Swedish goalkeeper Filip Gustavsson who conceded three goals and saved 12 shots .
36-year-old Ovetchkin made 5-4 and 7-5 behind Gustavsson to pass Gretzky in the history books.
- It was a fun match for the fans.
Many goals and many events.
We take the two points with us and move on, Ovetchkin says according to AP.
Points in six straight matches
The Russian has now scored six and seven goals this season and has scored in six straight games.
TJ Oshie scored the fifth hat-trick of his career and impressed clubmate Ovetjkin.
- He really flew forward today and it was fun to see him do a "hatty", says Ovetkin.
After a 1-4 deficit, Ottawa picked up to 4-4 before Washington gasped off again.
- Our defensive game did not work today.
We did not check hard enough against their stars and had to pay for it when Oshie scored three and Ovetjkin two goals, says Ottawa's coach DJ Smith who at least got to see his own player Drake Batherson do the first hat trick of his career.