Ovechkin's hat trick and Thompson's 40 saves lead Capitals to 5-2 win over Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored three goals Sunday night to continue his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's career record, and former Golden Knight Logan Thompson saved 40 shots in his first game back at T-Mobile Arena as the Washington Capitals beat Vegas 5-2.

Jakob Chychrun and Jakub Vrana also scored goals for the Capitals, and Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas each had two assists.

Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar scored for the Golden Knights, and Ilya Samsonov stopped 20 shots.

Ovechkin now has 866 goals, 29 from surpassing The Great One as the NHL career leader. It was his 31st career hat trick and his 176th career multigoal game, behind only Gretzky's 189. Ovechkin also extended his record to 315 power-play goals.

Both goals also were his first against former Capitals goalie Samsonov.

The Golden Knights played a video tribute to Thompson, who played for the club from 2021-24, midway through the first period. He appeared emotional as the crowd roared, repeatedly tapping his heart.

Vegas' loss left coach Bruce Cassidy still one victory shy of 400.

Capitals: Thompson is 2-0 against his former team this season, saving 64 of 68 shots.

Golden Knights: Jack Eichel extended his point streak to six games. He has two goals and 10 assists over that stretch.

Showing he’s not simply an offensive player, Ovechkin saved a goal in the second period when he got his stick on Ivan Barbashev’s open-net shot. That allow the Capitals to remain in front 3-2.

The Capitals were winless in six previous regular-season trips to T-Mobile before this game. Washington, of course, won the 2018 Stanley Cup in this arena.

The Capitals visit Utah on Monday to conclude three-game road swing. The Golden Knights visit Toronto on Wednesday to open five-game road trip.

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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) celebrates after scoring against the Washington Capitals during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) skates around Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) attempts to knock the puck away against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, center, celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the longer range weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraine's northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

Biden's move also follows the presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States' vital military support for Ukraine.

The official and the others knowledgeable about the matter were not authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's reaction Sunday was notably restrained.

“Strikes are not made with words," he said during his nightly video address. “Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”

Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

Zelenskyy's statement came shortly after he posted a message of condolence on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the border with Russia.

Russia also launched a massive drone and missile attack, described by officials as the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity before the winter.

“And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement,” Zelenskyy said.

The comment appeared to be a dig at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke Friday with Putin in the first such call with a sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies.

Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

Putin has warned that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

News of Biden's decision followed meetings over the last two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. The addition of North Korean troops was central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a stop in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.

Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the U.N. position is “to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”

“We want peace, we want fair peace,” Guterres said Sunday before the summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn't elaborate.

The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the development.

The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is short, so U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough to make a difference. Some supporters of Ukraine say that even a few strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change deployments and expend more of its resources.

North Korea has provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of North Korean troops to the conflict comes as Moscow has seen a favorable shift in momentum. Trump has signaled that he could push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an end to the conflict.

As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has provided Russia with significant amounts of munitions to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Trump, who takes office in January, spoke for months as a candidate about wanting Russia’s war in Ukraine to be over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.

He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has Ukraine’s international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.

America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

Worried about Russia’s response, however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.

That includes initially refusing Zelenskyy’s pleas for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.

The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.

Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.

FILE - US President Joe Biden, left, participates in a wreath laying ceremony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the memorial wall outside of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, listens as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One at Manaus-Eduardo Gomes International Airport, in Manaus, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)