There are so many bad records and milestones that keep stacking up against the New York Rangers lately, but we may have stumbled upon one pretty good highlight to make up for it. The NHL social media team recently compiled this list of teams that Alex Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer of all time, has scored a hat trick against, and it was interesting to say the least.
Ovechkin's latest hat trick gave him one against 21 teams which is a new record, and there are really two interesting things about it. One, 34 hat tricks is an insane number, and somehow only the fourth most in league history, and it feels like it should have been higher considering how legendary his goal scoring ability has been for the last nearly two decades.
Secondly... notice how one particular team is not on that list. That's right, the Rangers have NEVER allowed Alex Ovechkin to record a hat trick.
The Rangers have never allowed an Ovechkin hat-trick. There have been 10 such occasions in which Ovechkin recorded two goals against the Blueshirts, but he never was able to get an elusive third.
Hang that in the rafters of Madison Square Garden
Looking at Ovechkin's career, it is hard not to ignore just how much of a pain in the Rangers' side he has been. There are quite a few occasions where the "Gr8 One" has scored monumental goals that have had a significant impact on the Blueshirts franchise.
Over the course of 79 regular-season games against the Rangers, Ovi has scored 46 goals, which is the sixth-most against any team in his career. But, no hat tricks. Also of note... Ovechkin never scored an empty net goal against the Rangers either.
One can look at this and try argue that one of the teams that was able to contain the best goal scorer of all-time over the course of his career would be the Rangers, but that is not entirely true. 46 goals in 79 games is certainly worthy of naming him as an X-factor. This is especially true come the postseason as every time they play the Capitals, and the stats paint another picture. In 37 meetings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ovechkin has 13 goals in those crucially important games.
No matter which way you slice it, Ovechkin has had the Rangers number for years, but not as much you might think. The Blueshirts have done something that not many franchises have done, and that is prevent him from recording a hat trick, which is pretty impressive considering all the games he played against them during his illustrious NHL career.