Ovechkin, Winnik lead Capitals over Coyotes
Oilers move into tie for 1st in Pacific with win vs Avs
Photo taken of Mahra vs Bin Drai match during the Dubai Challenge Cup. WASHINGTON, March 26, (AP): Alex Ovechkin recorded his 30th goal of the season and Daniel Winnik scored two goals, including the game-winner late in the third period, as the Washington Capitals overcame listless stretches to beat the lowly Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Saturday night.
Ovechkin became the third player in league history to score 30-plus goals in each of his first 12 seasons, joining Mike Gartner (15) and Wayne Gretzky (13).
Winnik scored with 4:39 remaining, Justin Williams added another goal not long after and Winnik sealed the Capitals’ fourth consecutive victory with an empty-netter.
Braden Holtby made 28 saves for Washington, which has won five of six to reach an NHL-leading 106 points and keep pace atop the competitive Metropolitan Division. The Capitals are three points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins.
In Edmonton, Alberta, Ryan NugentHopkins and Drake Caggiula each had a goal and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers moved into a three-way tie atop the Pacific Division with a victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Benoit Pouliot and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won six of their last seven games and are now tied with San Jose and Anaheim at 91 points.
In New York, Riley Nash scored twice and backup goalie Anton Khudobin made 18 saves as the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Nash broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal of the contest at 4:12 of the third period, beating Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss from the slot for his seventh goal of the season. Dominic Moore assisted on the decisive goal, which lifted Boston two points ahead of the Islanders for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
In Montreal, Andrei Markov scored
Florida Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk (13) and Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) battle for possession of the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game on March 25, in Sun-
two goals and set up another as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators to retain first place in the Atlantic Division. Shea Weber also scored for Montreal, which leads Ottawa by three points, although the Senators have a game in hand.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for Ottawa, which had won two straight. Montreal swept three games in an eight-day span from the Senators and is 3-1-1 against its closest rival this season.
In Sunrise, Florida, Jonathan Marchessault scored his first career hat trick while James Reimer stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season to help the Florida Panthers rout the Chicago Blackhawks.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and three assists, and Aleksander Barkov added a goal and two assists for Florida. Reilly Smith and Nick Bjugstad also scored to give the Panthers their largest margin of victory since an 8-0 win over Toronto on Feb 5, 2008.
In Buffalo, New York, Jack Eichel scored twice and set up another goal in the Buffalo Sabres’ win that slowed the youth-laden Toronto Maple Leafs’ lateseason surge to clinch a playoff berth.
Ryan O’Reilly and Dmitry Kulikov each had a goal and an assist, and Evander Kane also scored in a game the Sabres took control of by scoring three successive goals in the second period. Robin Lehner stopped 32 shots, and the Sabres continued their home dominance over their cross-border rivals by improving to 18-2-1 against Toronto in their last 21 games at Buffalo.
In Columbus, Ohio, Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves in his seventh shutout of the season, helping the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bobrovsky was terrific in his NHLleading 40th win, and Alexander Wennberg tipped in the game’s only goal in the second period. The gritty victory in front of a sellout crowd broke a two-game losing streak for the playoffbound Blue Jackets.
In Newark, New Jersey, Jeff Skinner scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway with 10:26 left and the surging Carolina Hurricanes stretched their point streak to 10 games with a victory that eliminated the New Jersey Devils from playoff contention for the fifth straight year.
Sebastian Aho scored twice and Eddie Lack made 26 saves for the Hurricanes, who are 7-0-3 in their last 10. They remained five points out of a playoff spot with nine games to go in the regular season.
In St Louis, Sean Monahan scored with 3 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames past the St Louis Blues.
Troy Brouwer and Matt Bartkowski also scored for the Flames, who improved to 13-4 in overtime this season. Brian Elliott made 29 saves. Ivan Barbashev and Jaden Schwartz scored for the Blues, and Jake Allen made 28 saves.
In St Paul, Minnesota, Reid Boucher scored twice in Vancouver’s four-goal second period and the Canucks defeated the slumping Minnesota Wild.
Brock Boeser and Jack Skille also scored for Vancouver, while Richard Bachman stopped 25 shots in just his third start of the season.
Ryan Suter and Eric Staal scored for Minnesota late in the third period and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves in his first start since March 12. The Wild have lost seven of their last eight and are now 3-10-0 in March.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Colton Sissons and James Neal both scored twice to lead the Nashville Predators over the staggering San Jose Sharks.
Cody McLeod, P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Nashville, which has won three straight and six of seven. Craig Smith and Colin Wilson had three assists apiece to help the Predators move a point ahead of St Louis for third place in the Central Division.
Ovechkin
In Los Angeles, Derek Stepan scored late in the second period and Antii Raanta made 30 saves for his eighth career shutout as the New York Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings.
Ryan McDonagh added a powerplay goal and Rick Nash scored an empty-netter for the Rangers, who have won eight of their last 10 road games.