Alex Ovechkin stands in the corner of the Washington Capitals locker room, looking down and shaking his head as teammate John Carlson raves to reporters about his final push to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. In his pursuit of NHL immortality, Ovechkin is raising money to benefit pediatric cancer research. According to a Capitals press release,

Aliaksei Protas had the first hat trick of his NHL career and Alex Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had three points as the Washington Capitals extended their winning streak to five, defeating the Ducks 7-4 on Tuesday night.

From the get-go, it looked like the Washington Capitals' tilt with the Anaheim Ducks would turn into a high-scoring, run-and-gun affair — and that's exactly what happened. Thankfully for D.C., the Capitals were on the right side of it in the end thanks to Aliaksei Protas.

The Washington Capitals will make sure there is a local feel when Alex Ovechkin breaks the NHL's all-time goals record.