DeBrincat's return to Ottawa a win for Wings

Alex DeBrincat didn't anticipate being welcomed back with open arms by Ottawa Senators fans Saturday with good reason.

The Red Wings forward got the boos he was expecting in his first trip to Ottawa since being dealt to Detroit over the summer, and it wasn't so bad considering the final score.

Joe Veleno scored his first two goals of the season and Dylan Larkin added a goal and two assists as the Red Wings posted their fourth straight win with a 5-2 decision over the Senators. It was Detroit's win in Ottawa since Feb. 2, 2019.

Larkin, Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron added power-play goals for Detroit, which also got a 35-save performance from goaltender Ville Husso.

“It's pretty much what I expected,” DeBrincat said. “I think it is what it is. You try to, you know, zone it out and just play the game. We're happy we came up with the win and it's a tough team to play on the road ... it's a big two points for us.”

Jake Sanderson and Ridly Greig scored for Ottawa, which had its threegame win streak snapped. Joonas Korpisalo made 18 saves.

“They have a great team in there,” said the 25-yearold DeBrincat, who grew up in the suburbs north of Detroit. “But you know, I'm happy with where I am. I know they're going to be good for quite a long time so it's going to be a lot of battles between us.”

DeBrincat had no points but was on the ice for all three of Detroit's powerplay goals. The Red Wings were 3 for 5 with the man advantage, while Ottawa was 1 for 6.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, BLACKHAWKS 3 ❯❯ Nicolas Roy, Mark Stone and Paul Cotter scored in the third period, and Vegas remained undefeated.

William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas, which extended its franchise-record start and became the first Stanley Cup champion to begin its title defense with six consecutive victories.

SABRES 3, ISLANDERS 1 ❯❯ Jeff Skinner, Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens each scored a goal to lead Buffalo over New York. Casey Mittelstadt had two assists and Eric Comrie made 24 saves in his first start of the season for Buffalo.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, LIGHTNING 3, OT ❯❯ John Tavares scored with 55 seconds left in overtime as Toronto rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to beat Tampa Bay.

Matthew Knies had two goals in a span of 2:22 in the third period as Toronto tied it at 3. William Nylander also scored for the Leafs.

Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist, and Steven Stamkos had an assist to tie Pat Verbeek for 74th place on the NHL career points list with 1,062 for the Lightning.

BLUE JACKETS 5, WILD 4, OT ❯❯ Jack Roslovic scored 3:07 into overtime and Columbus held off Minnesota.

CANUCKS 5, PANTHERS 3 ❯❯ Andrei Kuzmenko scored the go-ahead goal with 4:57 left to help Vancouver beat Florida.

Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser also scored for Vancouver, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Sam Reinhart scored two third-period goals to rally the Panthers from a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie with 5:59 left.

CANADIENS 3, CAPITALS 2, OT ❯❯ Cole Caufield scored 47 seconds into overtime as Montreal edged Washington.

Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher also scored for Montreal while Dylan Strome scored a pair for Washington who have only won once this season.

STARS 5, FLYERS 4, OT ❯❯ Joe Pavelski scored 2:12 into overtime, and Dallas overcame three short-handed goals for its seventh consecutive win over Philadelphia.

Wyatt Johnson had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Roope Hintz also scored for Dallas.

The three short-handed goals were the most in the NHL since Calgary in 2018, and the most the Stars have allowed since moving to Dallas in 1993.

BLUES 4, PENGUINS 2 ❯❯ Brandon Saad scored twice and Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots as St. Louis won in regulation for the first time this season.

PREDATORS 5, SHARKS 1 >>Tommy Novak scored twice, Juuse Saros made 31 saves and Nashville defeated winless San Jose.