Ovechkin closes gap on Gretzky with hat trick on Sunday.

Alex Ovechkin appears determined to do something extremely special this season, this in spite of the fact that he suffered a major injury earlier in the season when a collision with Utah HC defenseman Jack McBain left him with a broken leg.

On Sunday afternoon, the captain for the Washington Capitals did his best to close the gap on the National Hockey League's all time goal scoring record, coming tantalizingly close to making his dreams of overtaking Wayne Gretzky for that record a reality.

Ovechkin and the Capitals would dominate the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday afternoon from start to finish and it would be Ovechkin himself that would lead the charge, scoring not once, not twice, but three times on his way to yet another hat trick in his remarkable career.

Ovechkin's first of the day and the 880th NHL goal of his career would come after a great drop pass from teammate Dylan Strome left Ovechkin with the puck in the slot, and he would make no mistake.

Ovechkin's next goal would come during a Washington power play, with this one looking very much like the majority of goals that Ovechkin has scored throughout his career.

And as if that wasn't enough, the hockey gods would smile on Ovechkin on this day as well when the stick of Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson would snap at the blue line, resulting in the puck landing right on the tape of Ovechkin's stick. The Oilers net was empty at the other end of the ice, and Ovechkin made no mistake recording the 882nd goal of his NHL career.

Will we see him break the record this season? At his current scoring pace the answer would be yes, the only question now is whether or not Ovechkin will be able to maintain that pace down the final stretch of the regular season.