Failure to defend Alex Ovechkin, poor PK, and more: 3 reasons why the Edmonton Oilers lost 7-3 to the Washington Capitals 

Sunday afternoon's game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Washington Capitals featured a pair of teams that boast future Hall of Famers, naturally, it turned out to be a game that fans were very excited for. However, the game was anything but competitive. The Capitals had their way with the Oilers, defeating them convincingly by a 7-3 margin at the Capital One Arena.

Alex Ovechkin scored a hat-trick and is 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goal-scoring record. The victory improved Washington's record to 38-11-8, while the Oilers fell to 34-19-4.

The game started well enough for the Oilers, who took a 1-0 lead thanks to Leon Draisaitl's NHL-leading 42nd goal of the season just 1:42 after the opening face-off. But the Capitals then took a 2-1 lead thanks to a pair of goals in quick succession from Tom Wilson and Jakob Chychrun.

Heading into the second period, Ovechkin struck twice to reach a total of 28 goals on the season and Connor McMichael increased the lead to 5-1 late in the frame. While the Oilers got goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner in the third period, they also allowed tallies from Dylan Strome followed by the hat trick-tally from Ovechkin.

Calvin Pickard did not have a good afternoon, allowing six goals on 33 shots. Meanwhile, Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves.

3 reasons why the Edmonton Oilers lost 7-3 to the Washington Capitals

#1. Failure to contain Alex Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin is 39 years old, which is considered elderly for most professional athletes. However, that hasn't stopped him from reclaiming his goal-scoring prowess as this generation's greatest scorer. He registered yet another hat trick in his Hall of Fame career and is now just 12 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time mark of 894 career goals.

While Ovechkin has torched teams all throughout his career, the Oilers were unable to contain him on Sunday afternoon.

#2. Poor penalty killing

While the Oilers only took a pair of penalties in the game, the Capitals made them pay on both of them. Jakob Chychrun and Alex Ovechkin both scored with an Oilers player in the penalty box, giving their penalty killing efficiency a mark of zero percent.

#3. Calvin Pickard was leaky

The biggest question mark for the Oilers, as they aim to repeat their journey to the Stanley Cup Final like last season, remains their goaltending. Neither Stuart Skinner nor Pickard are considered bonafide starting goaltenders at the NHL level, and Pickard nearly got sunburnt on the back of his neck this afternoon from the red goal light flashing so often.