SALT LAKE CITY -- Alex Ovechkin scored twice before leaving in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Utah Hockey Club 6-2 at Delta Center on Monday. Ovechkin left the game at 5:30 of the third following a collision with Utah forward Jack McBain.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin scored twice, taking the overall NHL lead with 15 goals this season, before leaving with an apparent leg injury in the surging Capitals' 6-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday night at Delta Center.

Alex Ovechkin notched his 31st career hat trick and Logan Thompson made 40 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Ovechkin is 29 goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL scoring record of 894 goals after tallying the 864th,

Alex Ovechkin left the Washington Capitals’ 6-2 win against the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Monday with an apparent left leg injury. Washington was awaiting information on Ovechkin’s injury after the game. “He’s being evaluated as we speak and we’ll know more tomorrow,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said.

Ovechkin had a hat trick in a 5-2 win at Vegas on Sunday, scoring goals 864, 865 and 866 in the same arena where he and the Capitals celebrated the franchise’s only Stanley Cup championship in 2018.

The Capitals captain is on pace for 63 goals, which would move him past Wayne Gretzky and 900 goals this season.