Ovechkin scores hat trick, Capitals spark past Golden Knights

Ovechkin gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 5:59 of the first period, scoring a power-play goal on a shot from the left circle that glanced off Alex Pietrangelo’s stick.

Chychrun extended it to 2-0 at 12:26 when he slotted a shot past Samsonov from the high slot.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge, and I give our guys a lot of credit,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “We took a day away from the rink and really wanted to focus on our physical and mental preparation because we knew how difficult it was to be successful in this building.”

Howden reduced it to 2-1 at 19:52 and knocked in a shot that bounced off the end boards.

“I was just trying to find myself getting to the net more and having a little bit more of a shooting mentality,” Howden said. “And I’ve been fortunate enough that pucks have kind of found me at the start so far.”

Vrana scored block side on Samsonov to make it 3-1 at 2:49 of the second period.

Kolesar made it 3-2 at 7:24 off a pass from Tomas Hertl during a delayed penalty.

Ovechkin made it 4-2 at 17:38, scoring his second goal of the game on a 2-on-1 rush. He then completed the hat trick with an empty net goal at 19:23 for the 5–2 final.

NOTES: With his hat trick, Ovechkin moved within one of Phil Esposito (32) for the fifth most in NHL history. … Ovechkin recorded the 16th hat trick of his career on the road. The only players with as many in NHL history are Gretzky (19), Mario Lemieux (19) and Marcel Dionne (17). … Vegas forward Jack Eichel had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, 10 assists).