Lost in the headlines of Alex Ovechkin’s 33rd career hat trick, Ethen Frank had the best game of his NHL career on Thursday.

Frank posted a career high four points and had his first multi-goal game in the Washington Capitals’ 8-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Both of Frank’s tallies came in the second period, where he scored twice in 1:38. He nearly scored a natural hat trick shortly after, but was stopped by goaltender Jakub Dobes on a breakaway as he tried to slide the puck under him.

“Yeah, it was really close,” Frank said. “Obviously, it would have been great. Just doing whatever I can to help the team win, and the points are just a bonus.”

Note: For this article, we are introducing an RMNB EF Rating on all of Ethen Frank’s points. Think like a tornado — but a tornado of speed!

Point 1 (Power-play goal)

Frank’s first point of the night came on his first career power-play goal and his first goal of the season. Taking a pass from Alex Ovechkin as he skated into the slot, Frank ripped a shot past Sam Montembeault’s glove, giving the Capitals a 2-1 lead 2:00 into the second period.

“That first goal on the power play, that’s a huge play,” Caps head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame.

The goal marked the first time Ovechkin recorded an assist on one of Frank’s goals.

“Usually [Ovechkin] is the one shooting the puck,” Frank said to Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken during the second intermission. “Getting an assist from him means the world, so it’s awesome every time getting a pass from him is an honor and a lot of fun.”

Dylan Strome notched a secondary assist on the tally, his second of three apples he doled out on his big night personally.

RMNB EF Rating: ⭐⭐★★★

The shot was a howitzer, but right at the center of the net. Montembeault slid out of the position to try and catch the puck with his glove, mitigating some of the impressiveness.

Point 2 (Goal)

Frank’s second goal of the night came on his very next shift. After speeding down the left wing, he shot the puck on his forehand through Montembeault’s glove and pad, making it 3-1 Capitals. The tally led to Montembeault being taken out of the game by Canadiens’ head coach Martin St. Louis after the netminder surrendered three goals on seven shots.

“No, honestly, off the top of my head, that’s the first time (I’ve chased a goaltender) for sure,” Frank said.

RMNB EF Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★

The speed down the wing is jaw-dropping. Then another hard snipe from Franky, but the goal was a little leaky as Montembeault missed the puck on his glove side again. Hitting the net far side so clean on such a tough angle added to the degree of difficulty.

Point 3 (Primary assist)

Frank registered his third point of the period after hitting Sonny Milano with a pass as the Son Man sped through the neutral zone. Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier lost his balance, and Milano took advantage, beating Jakub Dobes with some dangles near the net. The goal put the Capitals up by two, making the score 5-3 shortly before the second intermission.

RMNB EF Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

When you set up your teammate in stride like that and the defenseman nearly falls to the ice as he tries to pivot back into the play, you have set up your liney with a lot success. Beautiful north-south play.

Point 4 (Primary assist)

Frank notched his second primary assist of the night after speeding down the ice on a three-on-two break. As he approached the blue line, he fed Milano on the right wing as a Canadiens defender stepped up to hit him. The play left Milano wide open, and he sniped a shot past Dobes.

RMNB EF Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★

Late in the game and during mop-up time, sure, but Frank again uses his speed to occupy the Habs defender, who was more interested in delivering a hit than actually defending.

In 8:51 of ice time, Frank recorded 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, a plus/minus of +2, 4 shots on goal, and 5 shot attempts. Three of his five attempts were high-danger chances.

With Frank on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals held an advantage in shot attempts (+8), scoring chances (+6), high-danger chances (+5), and goals (+2). Along with that, the Caps had an expected goals percentage of 90 percent during Frank’s 7:16 of five-on-five ice time, generating 0.91 expected goals to Montreal’s 0.10.