Beagle sniffs out winner for Caps
Jay Beagle scored with 1.3 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3, last night in Raleigh, N.C.
Brett Connolly notched the tying goal with 3:08 left, and Alex Ovechkin added his NHL-leading 28th goal and two assists for firstplace Washington.
Lars Eller scored on the power play and Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots to help the Capitals earn their second come-from-behind victory in Raleigh in 10 nights. Washington won 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 2 on two late goals by Ovechkin.
The Hurricanes got powerplay goals from Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho — with each assisting on the other’s goal — and an even-strength goal from Jeff Skinner.
Carolina appeared headed for its second regulation victory over Washington in two nights, but T.J. Oshie pressured All-Star Noah Hanifin into a turnover behind the net and Connolly snapped the loose puck between Cam Ward’s legs.
Beagle then stuffed in a rebound past an outstretched Ward in the closing seconds.
The game came hours after Carolina publicly introduced Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon as the new majority owner and successor to longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr.
Canucks 5, Blue Jackets 2 — Sven Baertschi sparked a four-goal second period for Vancouver, Jacob Markstrom had 27 saves during a victory over host Columbus.
Seth Jones put Columbus up 1-0 during a strong first period, but Vancouver powered ahead in the second. Baertschi, Erik Gudbranson, Brandon Gaunce and Alexander Edler scored, and Jake Virtanen added an empty-net goal with nine seconds left in the third to help the Canucks snap a five-game skid.
Thomas Vanek and Henrik Sedin each had two assists for Vancouver, which won for just the third time since Dec. 7.
Flames 4, Panthers 2 — Mikael Backlund had an empty-net goal and a pair of assists, helping lift Calgary to its sixth straight victory by beating Florida in Sunrise, Fla.
Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames, and David Rittich stopped 41 shots in his first start in seven games.
Evgenii Dadanov scored both goals for the Panthers, breaking a 19-game goal drought. James Reimer made 25 saves in his 16th consecutive start, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Panthers from their fourth loss in five games.
Blackhawks 2, Jets 1 — Rookie center David Kampf scored his first NHL goal and added an assist on his birthday, Jeff Glass blocked 31 shots and host Chicago held off Winnipeg.
Jan Rutta also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended the Jets’ three-game winning streak and handed Winnipeg its first regulation loss in seven games.
The 32-year-old Glass lost a bid for his first career shutout when Patrik Laine scored with 3:41 left in the third period.
Oilers 4, Coyotes 2 — Darnell Nurse scored twice on rising slap shots from the left circle and Edmonton overcame an early twogoal deficit to beat Arizona in Glendale, Ariz.
Nurse broke a tie at 3:57 of the third period, beating goalie Antti Raanta above the glove from about the same spot where the 6-foot4 defenseman started the comeback in the first.
Patrick Maroon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, Connor McDavid had two assists and Al Montoya stopped all 19 shots he faced.