Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin moves up the NHL all-time points list, three-point performances from Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin tallied a hat trick in an 8-4 drubbing of the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin finished with four points, as did forward Ethen Frank with two goals and two assists. The Capitals have won three straight and improved to 11-8-2. Canadiens goaltenders Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes gave up seven goals on 35 shots as their club lost for the seventh time in their last eight games (1-4-3) and dropped to 10-7-3.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin moved past Joe Sakic into 10th place on the all-time points list with 1,643. Meanwhile, Canadiens center Jake Evans left this game in the third period following a high hit from Capitals winger Tom Wilson.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).

Colorado Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each had two goals and an assist to defeat the New York Rangers 6-3. Martin Necas collected three assists for the first-overall Avalanche (14-1-5, 33 points), who’ve won seven straight games. J.T. Miller tallied twice for the 10-10-2 Rangers, who lost their third straight game.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon is the league leader in goals with 15 and points with 36. He also moved past Peter Stastny into second place among the Avalanche’s all-time points leaders with 1,051. Joe Sakic is the leader with 1,641. Meanwhile, Avalanche rookie Gavin Brindley left this game with a lower-body injury in the first period.

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel scored twice and picked up an assist in a 4-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth. Shea Theodore had three assists for the Golden Knights (10-4-6) as they extended their points streak to five games (3-0-2). Nate Schmidt scored for the Mammoth, who are 1-4-3 in their last eight and dropped to 10-8-3.

The Columbus Blue Jackets nipped the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on an overtime tally by Adam Fantilli, who finished the game with two goals and an assist. Zach Werenski picked up three assists for the Blue Jackets (11-8-2). John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the 9-9-3 Maple Leafs, who have one win in their last seven contests (1-4-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided an update on the status of goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who’s been sidelined since Nov. 11 with an upper-body injury. Berube said the injury was worse than they originally thought, adding the netminder isn’t ready yet to return to the ice. He remains hopeful that Stolarz will get back to action soon.

An overtime goal by Jack Guentzel gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Lightning Nick Paul scored in his season debut since undergoing surgery for an upper-body injury in mid-September as Tampa Bay improved to 11-7-2. Trent Frederic scored for the 9-9-5 Oilers, who have one win in their last five contests (1-3-1).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Lightning placed defenseman Victor Hedman (undisclosed) on injured reserve. He’s expected to be sidelined for two weeks.

Three unanswered third-period goals by Tye Kartye, Shane Wright, and Jaden Schwartz lifted the Seattle Kraken to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Brandon Montour had two assists as the Kraken improved to 10-5-2. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen scored for the 10-6-4 Blackhawks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blackhawks winger Andre Burakovsky left the game late in the first period following a high hit from Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who received no penalty on the play. Connor Bedard, Burakovsky’s teammate, pulled no punches when asked about the incident following the game. “It’s back-to-back games, guys going right to the head,” Bedard said. “Nothing really happens. I think it sucks. He’s a great player. It’s bullshit.”

Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson scored to extend his goal streak to five games and his points streak to six as his club doubled up the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 4-2. Jake Oettinger kicked out 34 shots for the Stars (13-5-3), who’ve won six of their last seven contests. Forwards Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson replied for the 9-11-2 Canucks, who have one win in their last six games (1-3-2).

The New York Islanders got a 29-save shutout performance from Ilya Sorokin to blank the Detroit Red Wings 5-0. Maxim Shabanov tallied two goals and collected an assist as the Islanders picked up their sixth win in their last seven games and improved to 12-7-2. John Gibson allowed five goals on 21 shots for the 12-8-1 Red Wings.

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots to shut out the New Jersey Devils 1-0. Sam Reinhart tallied the only goal for the 11-8-1 Panthers. Jake Allen stopped 23 of 24 shots for the 13-6-1 Devils.

An overtime goal by Travis Sanheim gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Travis Konecny had two assists as the Flyers improved to 10-6-3 on the season. Justin Faulk tallied both goals for the 6-9-6 Blues.

Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson snapped a 2-2 tie with 1:38 remaining in the third period to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for the win as the Senators improved to 10-6-4. Beckett Sennecke and Mason McTavish scored for the 13-7-1 Ducks, who remain in first place in the Pacific Division with 27 points.

A shootout goal by Philipp Kurashev lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 31 shots for the Sharks as they improved their record to 10-8-3. Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist for the 10-6-5 Kings.