Capitals win 7th straight; Sabres rally past Bruins
WASHINGTON — Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots, and Jason Chimera had a goal and an assist as the Washington Capitals beat the struggling Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Off to the best start in team history, Washington leads the Eastern Conference with a 26-6-2 record and has won eight straight at home. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jay Beagle also scored for the Caps.
Holtby allowed only a second-period goal to Daniel Carr
in earning his NHL-leading 22nd victory. Montreal has been outscored 22-6 while losing its past six games.
SABRES 6, BRUINS 3: In Boston, Jack Eichel scored twice in his return to Boston and Jamie McGinn had the go-ahead goal with 5:36 left as Buffalo rallied from a twogoal deficit in the third period for a win over Boston.
Ryan O’Reilly also scored twice for the Sabres, who have won four of six. Chad Johnson stopped 30 shots, and Evander Kane had the other Buffalo goal.
BLUES 3, STARS 2 (SO): In St. Louis, David Backes scored in the ninth round of a shootout to lift St. Louis to a victory over Dallas.
Alexander Steen and Robby Fabbri scored in regulation and Jake Allen made 22 saves for the Blues, who got their second win over the Stars this season.
RED WINGS 3, PREDATORS
2: In Nashville, Tenn., Brendan Smith had a goal and an assist to lead Detroit past Nashville.
Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening also scored for the Red Wings, who moved into a tie with Montreal atop the Atlantic Division.
KINGS 4, COYOTES 3 (OT): In Glendale, Ariz., Anze Kopitar scored 36 seconds into overtime to lift Los Angeles over Arizona.
Kopitar skated past Viktor Tikhonov, faked goalie Louis Domingue to the ice with a forehand deke and backhanded the puck into the vacated right side of the net. That saved the Kings on a night when Los Angeles rallied from a one-goal deficit only to squander a two-goal lead in the final four minutes of regulation.
HURRICANES 3, DEVILS 1: In Raleigh, N.C., Justin Faulk scored the go-ahead goal 8:17 into the third period as Carolina beat New Jersey.
Faulk also had an assist, Joakim Nordstrom had a goal and an assist, Brett Pesce scored and Cam Ward made 19 saves to help the Hurricanes.
LIGHTNING 5, BLUE JACKETS 2: In Tampa, Fla., Steven Stamkos had two power-play goals and an assist during the second period as Tampa Bay beat Columbus.
Mike Blunden, Nikita Nesterov and Jason Garrison also scored for the Lightning, and Jonathan Marchessault extended his point streak to six games with two assists.
PENGUINS 3, WILD 1: In St. Paul, Minn., Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist in his return after a one-game absence for a lower-body injury as Pittsburgh beat Minnesota.
Eric Fehr and Patric Hornqvist also scored and the Penguins won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 17-19.