Capitals' Alex Ovechkin just can't stop scoring right now

If you plan to go to a Washington Capitals game wearing a hat in the near future, here’s some advice: Don’t. Based on the way Alex Ovechkin is firing the puck right now, you probably won’t leave with it on your head.

During a week when many have been debating whether the Washington captain is the greatest goal scorer in the sport’s history and if he’ll ever eclipse Wayne Gretzky’s NHL mark of 894 regular season tallies, Ovechkin has been magnificent.

Following a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, the 33-year-old found the back of the net three times against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. His performance led the Capitals to a comeback that concluded with a 6-5 shootout victory for his squad and his work all over highlight reels for the rest of the weekend.

Essentially, ‘The Great 8’ reminded us that his shot is very, very good. Even though we probably didn’t even need to be reminded.

After Carolina grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame, Washington’s rookie defender Jonas Siegenthaler was fed a nice pass along the blueline. The 21-year-old skated towards the net and instead of shooting himself, he wisely shovelled the puck to his left. Ovechkin was there, locked, loaded and ready to pounce.

Searching for his first NHL point, that was a pretty wise move by Siegenthaler.

With the Capitals down 4-2, that’s when Ovechkin struck for the second time. He broke into the Hurricanes’ zone alone and stopped up at the top of the left circle to allow his teammates to catch up. He didn’t need them, though.

(Please ignore the blatant interference by the Capitals’ Siegenthaler on Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton before the tally.)

It was the kind of goal you’d expect to see in a children’s game. While the team’s best player by a mile has the puck on his stick and everyone in the rink is yelling at him to pass, he does this and everyone quickly apologizes for ever doubting them. Textbook Ovi right there.

But, he wasn’t done just yet. Tied at four with Washington on the man-advantage…

You know the rest.

With back-to-back tricks on just nine total shots, the Russian sniper made some history that should make all the number-lovers happy.

With six tallies in his last two contests and goals in five straight games, it’s no surprise that Ovechkin comfortably sits first in the league’s goal-scoring department. He has 28 in 31 games and 635 regular season tallies in his career.

The top active scorer in the league is now only five behind Dave Andreychuk for 14th overall and 259 behind the Great One’s total.

At this pace, Gretzky might start checking over his shoulder pretty soon or, at the very least, won’t bring a chapeau the next time he decides to go to a Capitals game.

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