Gabriel Landeskog's hat trick caps off Avalanche win over Capitals

Alec Gearty

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Gabriel Landeskog's hat trick caps off Avalanche win over Capitals image

Gabriel Landeskog will probably want to see more of the Washington Capitals moving forward. 

Since he entered the NHL in 2011, Landeskog faced the Capitals ten different times. The Swede has recorded 12 points in that span including his first career hat-trick against Washington on Thursday night.

Colorado defeated the Capitals 6-2 behind Landeskog's offensive outburst. Landeskog's first goal came 14 seconds after the game's first puck drop — the fastest goal scored by an Avalanche player since Ian Lappiere's 16-second goal in 2009.

Landeskog's second goal came via penalty shot. After capitalizing on a combination of a turnover by Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov's slash, Landeskog was awarded a one-on-one battle with Grubauer. He strolled right up to the Caps goaltender and sent the shot above the blockerside of Grubauer.

The game's final goal, much like much of the Avalanche's offensive production, came by way of Landeskog. As center Nathan MacKinnon found Landeskog in the slot, the latter redirected the shot towards the Capitals net. However, Grubauer was there for the initial save. Luckily for Landeskog the puck bounced back to his stick as he followed up to complete the hat-trick.

As soon as the puck reached the back of the net, hats started flying over the glass at Pepsi Center to commemorate the milestone. The tossing of hats is a tradition for the fans. For members of the Avalanche, well, they doused their captain as he stopped by the bench. 

While Landeskog's hat-trick capped off the Avs win, MacKinnon led the Avalanche with five points, making it the highest amount that the 22-year-old has recorded in a game.

Alec Gearty