NHL roundup: Alex Ovechkin adds 872nd goal in Capitals’ 7-4 win
Dylan Strome had a goal and two assists, Alex Ovechkin added his 872nd career goal and the Washington Capitals earned a 7-4 victory against the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday.
Logan Thompson made 29 saves for the Capitals as Ovechkin inched closer to Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals.
With the Capitals leading by a goal, Ovechkin backhanded a loose puck at the front of the net off a faceoff under Jonathan Quick's right pad to make it 5-3 at 10:50 of the third period and move within 22 goals of Gretzky.
The Rangers twice got within a goal of Washington in the third period but could never get the equalizer in dropping to 5-16-0 dating back to Nov. 21. Quick made 21 saves.
Maple Leafs 6, Bruins 4
Matthew Knies recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists as Toronto handed visiting Boston its third straight loss.
Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal and four assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won three games in a row.
Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) returned after missing six games and had an empty-net goal and two assists. David Pastrnak scored twice for the Bruins.
Predators 4, Flames 1
Ryan O'Reilly posted his sixth career hat trick to lead visiting Nashville past Calgary for its second victory in as many nights and just its fifth road win this season.
Fedor Svechkov netted one goal and one assist while Filip Forsberg collected a pair of assists for the Predators. Justus Annunen stopped 31 shots, sparkling from the drop of the puck with 11 first-period saves when the Flames had a huge edge in play but couldn't take a lead.
Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames, who have lost three of their last four games. Dustin Wolf made 24 saves.
Red Wings 4, Jets 2
Dylan Larkin scored twice to lead Detroit over host Winnipeg, knocking the Jets from atop the NHL standings.
Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists and Alex DeBrincat also scored for Detroit, which won its fourth straight and improved to 4-1-0 under new coach Todd McLellan.
Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg, which was outshot 29-23. It was the third consecutive loss for the Jets, who came into the game leading the league with 56 points but saw Vegas pass them with their win over Buffalo later Saturday.
Blue Jackets 6, Blues 4
Dmitri Voronkov scored twice to lead Columbus past visiting St. Louis for its fifth win in eight games (5-2-1).
Sean Monahan and Ivan Provorov earned three assists for Columbus, and Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves.
Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists while Brayden Schenn and Cam Fowler had a goal and one assist for the Blues, who lost for just the second time in six games.
Sharks 3, Devils 2
Cody Ceci scored with 25 seconds left to lift San Jose over visiting New Jersey, giving the Sharks a second straight win after losing eight in a row.
Nikolai Kovalenko and Macklin Celebrini also scored and Yaroslav Askarov made 28 saves for San Jose.
Nico Hischier scored on his 26th birthday, Paul Cotter also tallied and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Devils, who have lost four in a row to match their longest skid of the season.
Wild 4, Hurricanes 0
Mats Zuccarello scored two goals, including an empty netter, and Filip Gustavsson made 21 saves as Minnesota defeated Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.
Matt Boldy had a goal and two assists and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for the Wild, while Marco Rossi logged a career-high four assists, bringing his season total to 22. Zuccarello added an assist as well.
The shutout was Gustavsson's third of the season and the ninth of his career. Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who lost for the fourth time in their last six games.
Canadiens 2, Avalanche 1 (SO)
Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach scored shootout goals and Montreal beat Colorado in Denver and complete a six-game road trip with four wins (4-2-0).
Caufield also scored Montreal's lone goal in regulation, while Jakub Dobes had 22 saves through overtime and two more in the shootout.
Mikko Rantanen scored and Mackenzie Blackwood had 23 saves between regulation and overtime and one in the shootout for Colorado, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Golden Knights 3, Sabres 1
Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist and Adin Hill made 23 saves as Vegas moved into the NHL points lead with a victory over visiting Buffalo in Las Vegas.
Mark Stone and Tanner Laczynski also scored goals and Tanner Pearson had two assists for Vegas, which picked up its eighth victory in its last nine games. The Golden Knights, who improved to an NHL best 17-4-0 at home, now lead the Winnipeg Jets by one point for the league lead.
Jason Zucker scored a goal and James Reimer finished with 30 saves for Buffalo, which had a three-game win streak over the Golden Knights snapped.
Kings 2, Lightning 1
Los Angeles continued its mastery of its home ice as Adrian Kempe's goal with 5:48 left in regulation beat Tampa Bay.
Kempe's team-leading 19th goal extended his point streak to a season-high five games. Mikey Anderson recorded his fifth goal of the season for Los Angeles, which won its fourth consecutive game and its ninth in a row at home.
Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay, which lost its third straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the Lightning.
Oilers 4, Kraken 2
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist and Viktor Arvidsson contributed two assists as Edmonton held on for a victory against host Seattle, its seventh straight win against its Pacific Division rival.
Vasily Podkolzin, Jeff Skinner and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers, who won their third consecutive game overall. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 15 saves.
Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle, which had a three-game point streak snapped. Philipp Grubauer, making his fourth consecutive start in place of the injured Joey Daccord (upper-body injury), stopped 28 of 31 shots.
Stars 3, Utah Hockey Club 2 (OT)
Thomas Harley scored the overtime winner as Dallas edged visiting Utah, beating its division rival for the third time in three games this season.
Harley snapped home a Matt Duchene pass past Karel Vejmelka at 3:01 of the extra period to secure Dallas's fourth straight win. Jamie Benn and Oskar Back also scored for the Stars, while Duchene and Wyatt Johnston each chipped in a pair of assists. Jake Oettinger made 33 saves for the Stars to move to 19-9-1 this season.
Matias Maccelli scored twice for Utah, which has just one win over its last seven games (1-4-2). Vejmelka stopped 26 shots but was saddled with his third loss against the Stars this season.
--Field Level Media
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This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 3:44 AM