Washington wins eighth in succession
Sabres’ Kane says he is innocent of crime
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Braden Holtby made 31 saves and Alex Ovechkin scored to lead the Washington Capitals over the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Monday night for their eighth straight win.
Ovechkin scored 19 seconds into the second period and Jay Beagle scored about 12 minutes later to help the Capitals improve to 27-6-2, the best start in club history.
Washington has earned a point in 15 of its last 16 games and trails Dallas by one point for the NHL lead. Holtby got his 22nd career shutout.
PREDATORS 5, RANGERS 3: In Nashville, Tenn., James Neal scored twice and Mike Ribeiro had three assists as Nashville held off New York.
Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith and Ryan Ellis also scored for the Predators. Roman Josi added two assists, Pekka Rinne had 26 saves.
WILD 3, RED WINGS 1: In St. Paul, Minn., Mikko Koivu scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves in a surprise appearance as Minnesota beat Detroit.
Dubnyk suffered a cut on his arm in practice Sunday
and needed stitches. He was expected to sit, but Darcy Kuemper was announced out with an upper-body injury.
CANADIENS 4, LIGHTNING 3 (SO): In Tampa, Fla., Max Pacioretty won it in the third round of a shootout as Montreal beat Tampa Bay.
KINGS 5, CANUCKS 0: In Vancouver, British Columbia, the Kings’ Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves as Los Angeles routed Vancouver.
Note
KANE: Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane was calm and brief in saying he looks forward to having his name cleared in connection with a sex crime allegation.
“I just want to say I’ve done nothing wrong,” Kane said Monday. “I respect the legal process. And unfortunately at this time, there’s not much more I can talk about.”
Kane spoke for about 30 seconds in front of a large gathering of reporters in a corner of the Sabres locker room. He did not take any questions in his first comments since The Buffalo News reported that Buffalo police were investigating a claim made against the player.
The alleged incident occurred early Sunday at a downtown hotel.