Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders Match Player Stats On Jan 18, 2020

Alexander Ovechkin recorded a hat trick to pass Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for 10th place and tie Steve Yzerman for ninth place on the NHL's all-time goals list and the Washington Capitals rallied for a 6-4 victory over the host New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.

Ovechkin tied Lemieux midway through the first period with a breakaway goal but after his 690th goal, the Capitals did little offensively until their comeback bid in the third to win their third straight game.

Ovechkin got his 691st career goal on a spectacular play 5:18 into the third when he scored while falling to the ice after making a move through the right circle. He then tied Yzerman by capping Washington's comeback with an empty-net goal with less than a minute remaining.

Ovechkin recorded his 26th career hat trick and posted a hat trick for the second straight game.

The Capitals tied the game with 5:28 remaining in the third when Tom Wilson tipped a shot by Dmitry Orlov. Washington took a 5-4 lead when Jakub Vrana put a wrist shot from the right circle into the net following a New York turnover with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas scored in the first period for the Islanders, who lost their second straight game. Jordan Eberle added a power-play goal while Devon Toews scored late in the second before New York's meltdown as the Islanders lost for the third time in four games.

Carl Hagelin started the comeback early in the third by chipping a shot from close range into the net.

Washington goaltender Braden Holtby allowed four goals for the fifth time in his last seven starts and made 18 saves before being pulled. Ilya Samsonov made seven saves in the third and picked up the win when Washington stormed back.

Semyon Varlamov allowed five goals on 29 shots.

After Ovechkin's first goal, the Islanders scored the next four goals. Nelson tied it with a wrist shot from the right circle and Cizikas banked in a wrist shot from the right circle off Washington defenseman Radko Gudas' skate with 4:11 left in the first.

Eberle scored on the power play 9:31 into the second when his backhand from the right side of the net went off Holtby's pad, and Toews finished off a give-and-go with Leo Komarov by sliding the puck under Holtby with 2:35 remaining.

--Field Level Media