Alex Ovechkin is first player to open season with back-to-back hat tricks since the NHL's inaugural season
— -- Alex Ovechkin has again etched his name into the record book, as he has become the first player since the NHL's inaugural season to open a season with consecutive hat tricks.
Ovechkin scored his fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the season in the first period of the Washington Capitals' home opener against the Montreal Canadiens. He scored his first three goals of the season in the Capitals' season opener in? Ottawa?on Thursday night.
Back-to-back hat tricks to start a season have not been seen since the 1917-18 season, in which Cy Denneny, Joe Malone and Reg Noble each accomplished the feat.
Fellow Russian? Evgeny Kuznetsov?assisted on each of Ovechkin's first three goals Saturday night, as Washington took a 4-0 lead into the first intermission. Ovechkin added a fourth goal in the second period en route to a 6-1 win.
The Caps' captain, who made his NHL debut in the 2005-06 season, now has 114 career multigoal games, tying him with the retired Teemu Selanne for the most since the 1993-94 season.
This is the first time Ovechkin has ever tallied back-to-back hat tricks. The last Capitals player to do so is Peter Bondra from Feb. 3 to 5 in 1999.
Washington's next game is Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, against whom Ovechkin has 41 career goals.
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