WASHINGTON — Justin Sourdif registered his first NHL hat trick and added two assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks 7-4 on Monday night.
It was the first hat trick by a Capitals rookie since Alex Ovechkin registered the feat Jan. 13, 2006, also against Anaheim.
“They’re so supportive on the bench, and then they’re always keeping you going,” Sourdif said of his teammates during his postgame, rinkside interview on Monumental Sports Network. “We all love each other in there. And the guys are so close. And when you’re having fun, it’s so easy to play.”
Ovechkin also scored twice in the win, and Ryan Leonard had a goal and an assist as the Capitals filled up the box score. John Carlson added a goal, and Connor McMichael had four assists for the Capitals, who ended a two-game slide. Charlie Lindgren made 41 saves in the win.
“This was a huge game for our hockey team. We needed two points tonight. We needed two points, I don’t care what it looked like,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “I don’t care how many injuries, who’s out of the lineup, we needed to find a way.”
The Capitals were without Tom Wilson, who was named to Canada’s Olympic roster Wednesday, and Aliaksei Protas, who are both listed as day-to-day.
Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn, Jacob Trouba and Beckett Sennecke scored for the Ducks, who have lost six straight. Petr Mrazek stopped 19 of 24 through two periods. He was replaced by Lukas Dostal to start the third. Dostal stopped all three shots he faced.
Kreider opened the scoring just 6:33 into the first period, ending a 15-game goal drought.
Sourdif evened the score, firing home a drop pass from McMichael in the slot. Three minutes later, Sourdif struck again, beating Mrazek glove side to give Washington a 2-1 lead going into the second.
Sourdif picked up where he left off, finding Leonard, who banked in a shot off Mrazek to make it 3-1. Just 1:36 later, Leonard returned the favor, setting up Sourdif for a tap-in for his third goal of the game. Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
Sourdif is the ninth rookie in franchise history to record a hat trick, and his effort helped the home team fight off a furious Anaheim rally in the third, outshooting Washington 17-5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
