Justin Sourdif scores his first hat trick to lead the Capitals to a 7-4 win over the Ducks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justin Sourdif scored his first NHL hat trick and added two assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Anaheim Ducks 7-4 on Monday night.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ryan Leonard had a goal and an assist, John Carlson also scored and Connor McMichael had four assists for the Capitals, who ended a two-game slide. Charlie Lindgren made 41 saves in the win.

Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn, Jacob Trouba and Beckett Sennecke scored for the Ducks, who have lost six straight. Petr Mrazek stopped 19 of 24 through two periods. He was replaced by Lukas Dostal to start the third. Dostal stopped all three shots he faced.

Kreider opened the scoring just 6:33 into the first period, ending a 15-game goal drought.

Sourdif evened the score, firing home a drop pass from Connor McMichael in the slot. Three minutes later, the rookie struck again, beating Mrazek glove side to give Washington a 2-1 lead going into the second.

Sourdif picked up where he left off, finding Ryan Leonard, who banked in a shot off Mrazek to make it 3-1. Just 1:36 later, Leonard returned the favor, setting up Sourdif for a tap-in for his third goal of the game. Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.

Sourdif is the ninth rookie in franchise history to get a hat trick and the first since Jan. 13, 2006, when Ovechkin did it at Anaheim.

Anaheim had a furious rally in the third, outshooting Washington 17-5.

The Capitals were without Tom Wilson, who was named to Canada’s Olympic roster on Wednesday, and Aliaksei Protas, who are listed as day-to-day.

Ducks: Continue a four-game road trip in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Capitals: Host Dallas on Wednesday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin shoots during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) stops the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck against Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (98) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Strome (16) takes a penalty shot against Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals right wing Justin Sourdif (34) celebrates after his goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The near-daily changes in U.S. gas prices are dizzying for drivers, who are left feeling frustrated and cash-strapped by the highest fuel costs since 2022.

With the Iran war pushing up prices worldwide, the U.S. average for a gallon of gas topped $4 on Tuesday, according to AAA.

Prices can change from one day to the next or from one nearby station to another, forcing drivers in the U.S. to game out the right moment to fill up or hunt for cheaper prices.

Experts say differences in price aren’t typically decided by any individual gas retailer, and most of them aren't pocketing the extra pennies when prices rise. The uncertainty at the pump is trickling down from a massive, volatile oil and gas market that's making it hard for gas stations to keep up.

Lonnie McQuirter, director of operations at 36 Lyn Refuel Station in south Minneapolis, said his margins have gotten much tighter. About a mile (1.6 kilometers) off Interstate 35, the neighborhood convenience store posted $3.399 a gallon for regular gas on Wednesday, which is about 18 cents lower than the metro average, according to AAA.

“We price based on what we’re able to buy fuel at, and how well we can operate,” McQuirter said. He declined to speculate about his competitors, saying, “They’ve got different economics.”

Wholesale fuel prices, which shift multiple times a day, are the main reason McQuirter said he's charging more than a month ago. He's also facing higher credit card fees and rising costs to maintain pumps.

In times like these, with consumers “screaming for help,” McQuirter said small operators like him act more on emotion than greed.

“We’re in our stores every day looking our customers in the eye,” he said. “It really takes a toll when people are having to cut back on certain things in order to afford to live.”

A lot of it is outside the gas retailer’s control. Roughly half the price at the pump pays for the cost of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. About 20% goes to refiners who turn crude into gas.

Those costs have risen as crude oil prices jumped in response to the war and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Gas retailers are adjusting the price at the pump to account for the higher price they just paid for their next shipment of gasoline.

Taxes — federal, state and local — account for nearly 20% of the price, while about 10% is left for retailers, who still have to pay for transportation, labor and other expenses.

Retailers' markup has averaged about 38 cents a gallon over the past five years, according to the convenience store trade group NACS, citing data from research firm OPIS. After expenses, stations may keep roughly 15 cents per gallon, said Jeff Lenard, a vice president at NACS.

“Some make more, some make less,” Lenard said.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, compared it to a homeowner’s role in setting their sale price.

“If I was selling a house today, I’d be beholden to whatever the housing market is,” De Haan said. “That’s the same for gas station owners. Whatever the price of oil and gasoline are, they are a price taker, not maker.”

Although the national average just passed $4 a gallon, the price that drivers pay varies widely by state, city and station.

Taxes alone can create large gaps. California's gas taxes and fees totaled about 71 cents per gallon last year, compared with roughly 9 cents in Alaska.

Distance from refineries, the type of retailer, how much volume the location goes through and whether there are other fuel options nearby also play a role.

Gas stations near competitors may choose to price gasoline competitively on large outdoor signs to attract drivers, hoping they'll come inside and buy higher-margin items, said Neal Walters, a partner focused on energy at the global management consulting firm Kearney.

“It’s one of the only retail locations where you don’t have to go into the store to find out what you’re paying,” Walters said.

While U.S. retailers sell hundreds of millions of gallons of gas a day nationwide, they typically won't see large gains when prices rise.

“The margins shrink when prices go up because it’s harder for them to pass along the increases as quickly as they themselves get them,” De Haan of GasBuddy said.

When oil prices start to fall, retailers may recover some of those losses, particularly if there’s uncertainty about future supply costs. Prices can rocket up but tend to drift down like a falling feather, said Garrett Golding, assistant vice president for energy programs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Higher gas prices can also hurt sales inside the gas stations, if customers who are being squeezed at the pump spend less on other things.

“So it’s not always the case that higher prices mean the service station owners are actually doing better,” Golding said.

Most profits in the oil and gas supply chain are made upstream, he said, by companies that extract and refine crude oil. Still, Golding says they aren't necessarily celebrating; at some point, a significant spike in prices could start to hurt demand.

“It may be a good stretch of days or weeks for them,” he said, “but they’re also cautious of what it could portend.”

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station, in downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)