Ovechkin is top NHL player for November

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Washington's Alex Ovechkin, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and New York Islanders' Joey MacDonald were selected the NHL players for the month of November.

Ovechkin, the Capitals' left wing, led the league with 25 points with 11 goals and 14 assists in helping the Capitals to an 8-5-2 record on the month. That was the most November wins for Washington since 1996. Ovechkin has points in 11 of those games, including 10 consecutive games from Nov. 10-28.

Malkin, a center for the Penguins, was second in the NHL with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points in November. He had assists in the first six Pittsburgh games of the month, extending his string to 13 consecutive games. He also collected his third career hat trick on Nov. 15 against the Islanders.

MacDonald, in relief of Rick DiPietro who has a knee injury, went 8-5-1 from Nov. 3-29. He led NHL goaltenders in games (14), minutes (842) and shots faced (439) and tied for the lead in victories. He had a 2.64 goals against average for the month.