Facts and Figures: Ovechkin's 21st NHL hat trick powers Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is not slowing down at 33 years old.

On the contrary, the Washington Capitals forward is on pace to break a tie with Bobby Hull (seven times) to become the first player to lead the NHL in goals eight times. Ovechkin's 25 goals lead seven players who have scored at least 20 this season, including four who are age 23 or younger (Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine, Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon).
Ovechkin made a big jump in the scoring race with his 126th multigoal game and 21st NHL hat trick to
help the Capitals to a 6-2 win
against the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. He also extended his point streak to 12 games (19 points; 13 goals, six assists), one shy of his NHL career-high set from Jan. 1-Feb. 1, 2007. And for the third time in his NHL career, Ovechkin became the first player to score 25 goals in a season (2006-07, 2013-14), doing it in Washington's 30th game. Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby is the only other player first to 25 goals in 30 games or fewer (2010-11).
The Capitals captain also set a couple of NHL milestones; his hat trick put him ahead of Pavel Bure and Darryl Sittler and into a tie with Glenn Anderson and Richard Martin for 12th-most in NHL history (Teemu Selanne is 11th with 22). Ovechkin has scored a hat trick against 13 different teams and joined a list of 12 players who have accomplished that feat; Brett Hull (20), Mario Lemieux (19) and Mike Bossy (19) hold the top three spots on that list.
The Capitals (18-9-3, 39 points) have won three straight games and 10 of 12. They hold a five-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Rantanen first to 50 points

Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen had four points (one goal, three assists) to extend his point streak to 12 games (23 points; six goals, 17 assists) and become the first player to reach 50 points this season in
Colorado's 6-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers
at Pepsi Center. Rantanen is the first Finland-born player and second in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history (Peter Forsberg in 1997-98) to accomplish the feat.

Three NHL players, all with the Penguins, have had at least 50 points through their team's first 31 games in a season since 1996-97: Jaromir Jagr (53 points; 25 goals, 28 assists in 1999-2000), Lemieux (55 points; 16 goals, 39 assists in 2002-03) and Evgeni Malkin (53 points; 14 goals, 39 assists) in 2008-09.

Captain Connor sparks Oilers

Center Connor McDavid stretched his point streak to six games (10 points; four goals, six assists) to help the Oilers win their fourth consecutive game. The Edmonton captain has at least one point in 13 of his past 14 games since Nov. 13 (20 points; seven goals, 13 assists) and is one point from becoming the ninth player in the NHL with 300 points before his 22nd birthday (104 goals, 195 assists).