Ovechkin scores points in career-high 14 consecutive games for Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin has been so hot lately that scoring one goal and deciding the shootout in
a 4-3 victory
against the Buffalo Sabres at Capital One Arena on Saturday felt like an off night to the Washington Capitals captain.

"I have pretty good chances, but today it was not my day," Ovechkin said. "You can't score every night."
Actually, Ovechkin has been lately.
With his goal that tied the score at 3-3 with 6:14 left in the second period Saturday, the 33-year-old established an NHL career-high with points in 14 consecutive games. He has 23 points (17 goals, six assists) during his streak, which surpassed his previous best of 13 straight games with a point from Jan. 1-Feb. 1, 2007 (eight goals, 12 assists).

Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 29 goals in 32 games this season, has scored goals in six straight games (10 goals), one short of the longest goal streak of his career, established as a rookie in 2005-06 (eight goals in seven games from Feb. 10-March 8, 2006).
But after scoring three goals in each of his previous two games against the Detroit Red Wings (
a 6-2 victory Tuesday
) and at the Carolina Hurricanes (
a 6-5 shootout win Friday
), Ovechkin sounded disappointed he couldn't do it again against the Sabres to become the first NHL player with hat tricks in three straight games.
"It would be nice to get another hatty or whatever," Ovechkin said. "But nothing you can do about it."
Ovechkin had to settle for becoming the seventh player age 33 or older with a point streak of at least 14 games, joining Adam Oates (20 games in 1996-97), Gordie Howe (16 games in 1962-63 and 14 games in 1963-64), Luc Robitaille (15 games in 1999-2000), Wayne Gretzky (15 games in 1996-97), Chris Chelios (15 games in 1995-96) and Marcel Dionne (14 games in 1984-85).

OVECHKIN STREAK

Here is a look at Alex Ovechkin's 14-game point streak
Nov. 16: Ovechkin starts the streak with his 13th goal of the season at 18:29 of the second period of the Capitals'
3-2 overtime victory
at the Colorado Avalanche.

Nov. 19: Ovechkin scores twice, the second the tying goal early in the third period of
a 5-4 overtime victory
at the Montreal Canadiens. They are his 30th and 31st career goals against the Canadiens in 47 games.
Nov. 21: Ovechkin gets an assist on Tom Wilson's goal :54 into
a 4-2 home win
against the Chicago Blackhawks. It's his ninth assist of the season.
Nov. 23: Ovechkin has one goal and one assist in
a 3-1 home victory
against the Detroit Red Wings to extend the streak to four games. He picks up his 10th assist on Wilson's goal at 12:13 of the second period then scores his 16th goal at 8:34 of the third to cap the scoring.
Nov. 24: Ovechkin scored his 17th goal of the season with 30 seconds left in the second period in the
come-from-behind 5-3 win
against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Nov. 26: The streak nearly comes to an end in his first game against former coach Barry Trotz, but Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left in
a 4-1 win
at the New York Islanders.
Nov. 30: Ovechkin assists on two of Nicklas Backstrom's three goals and scores his 19th of the season in
a 6-3 win
against the New Jersey Devils. He has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in the seven-game point streak.
Dec. 2: Ovechkin extends the streak to eight with an assist on a goal by Backstrom 41 seconds into the game, but can't score on any of his six shots on goal in the
6-5 home loss
to the Anaheim Ducks.
Dec. 4: Playing in the same arena in which he won the Stanley Cup, Ovechkin scores his 20th goal of the season in
a 5-3 loss
at the Vegas Golden Knights. It's the 14th straight season Ovechkin has scored 20 goals and it's the third time he's reach that mark in 27 or fewer games (2013-14, 24 games; 2007-08, 27 games).

Dec. 6: With his streak seconds from ending, Ovechkin scores an empty-net goal from his defensive zone with 2.3 second remaining in a
4-2 victory
at the Arizona Coyotes.
Dec. 8: Ovechkin's streak goes to 11 when he scores a goal and an assist in
a 4-0 win
at the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ovechkin scores his 22nd goal on a redirect with 19 seconds left in the first period and then assists on Travis Boyd's first goal of the season at 11:04 of the third period.
Dec. 11: Ovechkin scores a hat trick in
a 6-2 home win
against the Detroit Red Wings. He scores his 23rd goal of the season at 12:59 of the first period, his 24th at 9:05 of the second and his third at 9:33 of the third. It's his first hat trick since Nov. 25, 2017 and 21st in the NHL, which ties him for 12th all time.

Dec. 14: Ovechkin has a hat trick in back-to-back games for the second time in two seasons in
a 6-5 shootout win
at the Carolina Hurricanes. He also matches a career high with a point in 13 straight games. Ovechkin, who had hat tricks in the first two games of last season, became the 14th player in NHL history to have back-to-back hat tricks more than once.

Dec. 15: Ovechkin scores the tying goal with 6:14 remaining in the second period to establish a career-high with points in 14 straight games and gets the deciding goal in
a 4-3 shootout win
against the Buffalo Sabres.