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

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.

Wednesday evening marks the third and final meeting of the season between Utah and Anaheim. The Ducks toppled Utah 5-4 in overtime on Oct. 16 and 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 22 despite the fact that Utah led in the third period of both games.

If you ask any Utah Hockey Club player, they’ll say every game is the most important of the season right now. Hyperbole, sure. But on Wednesday night, the claim actually held some merit. Utah faced and beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 who came into Delta Center trailing the Club by four points in the Western Conference playoff race.