Ovechkin hat trick leads Capitals over the Wild 4-3

The first period saw both teams trade power play chances, but the frame ultimately ended scoreless. It was clear the Wild was trying to keep the NHL's leading goal scorer in check by getting sticks in his way. The Wild got 8 shots in the period to the Capitals' 10. The Wild had some chances to break through, but Braden Hotby (or Holtbeast, as Washington fans like to affectionately call him) is just playing extremely well. He was out on his crease challenging every shot and moving well laterally to stop the one-timers off Wild sticks.

Down by a goal, the Wild continued to press, but the crowd was into the game and tried to will their team to tie the game.The best chance for Minnesota came when Holtby made a save, but the puck dropped and sat in the crease. With Zucker bearing down to get to the puck, Backstrom swept it away at the very last second. Yeo emptied the net with a little over two minutes left. Dumba took a one-timer that Hotlby was able to kick out with the right pad past everyone. Jason Chimera was able to chase the puck down and score to seal the win. Mikael Granlund did score with 3.6 seconds left on the clock to get the score back to a one goal deficit, but by then, it hardly mattered. The damage was done.