Ovechkin’s feat is one not seen for 100 years
Alex Ovechkin scored four goals to become the first player in 100 years with back-to-back hat tricks to open a season, and the host Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Saturday night.
Ovechkin had three goals in the third period in Thursday’s opening night win at Ottawa, then matched the feat while helping chase Montreal goalie Carey Price in the first period Saturday. He added his fourth goal at 16:46 of the second period against Al Montoya.
Ovechkin jokingly credited the outburst to his Russian sister-in-law, who has been visiting the U.S. in the past week.
“Every time she’s in town like I score a hat trick,” Ovechkin said. “Back-to-back and she’s leaving Monday. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to talk to someone to keep her here.”
It was the fourth four-goal game of his career and second against the Canadiens.
Three players had hat tricks in the first two games of the 1917-18 season: Cy Denneny of Ottawa, Joe Malone of Montreal and Reg Noble of Toronto, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Ovechkin opened the scoring 20 seconds in, added his second goal at 2:51 and his third at 18:10. Evgeny Kusnetsov assisted on all four of Ovechkin’s goals.
“It’s a fun time when you play like that and your line’s feeling it,” Ovechkin said.
Brown raises fist: Lightning right winger J.T. Brown raised his fist while standing during the playing of the national anthem in a road game against Florida. “I wanted to do something to show my support. There’s some issues that we have to talk about,” Brown said. “I know there’s going to be negative backlash, but in my heart I know I did what was right.” Brown, son of former Minnesota Vikings running back Ted Brown and one of approximately 30 black players in the NHL, used the same protest before a preseason game against the Panthers last month. The Panthers won the game 5-4 to give coach Bob Boughner his first NHL win. Jared McCann scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period after a review overturned the ruling of goalie interference.
Golden Knights 2, Coyotes 1: James Neal’s goal at 3:46 of overtime gave the visiting expansion team its second win in two games. Neal, who scored twice in Vegas’ first regular-season game Friday, completed a comeback that saw the Knights tie the score at 1 with 1:12 to play in regulation.
Flames 6, Jets 3: Defenseman T.J. Brodie had two goals and two assists, and Calgary scored the final five goals in its home opener. Brodie and Johnny Gaudreau each tied career highs with four-point games. Flames newcomer Jaromir Jagr wasn’t in the lineup because he wanted more time to recover his game legs.
Blackhawks 5, Blue Jackets 1: Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and assist to lead host Chicago. Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz was hit hard by two defensemen as Kane scored the opening goal 1:33 in. He left the game with an undisclosed injury after trying to return with a short shift midway through the first period.
Blues 4, Stars 2: Jake Allen made 38 saves and the Blues used three firstperiod goals to beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 in their home opener, spoiling former coach Ken Hitchcock’s return to St. Louis. Maple Leafs 8, Rangers 5: Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals, and host Toronto won a wild home opener. The Leafs pulled ahead 5-1 in the first period and chased New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist before the Rangers scored four straight to quiet the Air Canada Centre crowd. Penguins 4, Predators 0: Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and host Pittsburgh won in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch. The two-time defending champion Penguins got their first win in their third game of the season.
Devils 4, Avalanche 1: Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher set up three power-play goals to steal the spotlight from No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier for host New Jersey, and the new-look Devils opened the season with a victory. Adam Henrique, Jimmy Hayes, rookie Jesper Bratt and John Moore scored as the Devils started eight players who were not with the team last year, when they posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Islanders 6, Sabres 3: John Tavares scored twice to lead New York to victory in its home opener. Casey Cizikas also had two goals for the Islanders and added an assist.
Red Wings 2, Senators 1: Frans Nielsen scored the only goal in the shootout to lift visiting Detroit.
Hurricanes 5, Wild 4: Jaccob Slavin scored in the shootout and host Carolina won its opener after Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu sent the game to overtime by scoring in the final second of regulation. Canucks 3, Oilers 2: Bo Horvat scored twice for the host Canucks, the last team in the NHL to start the season.
Flyers 3, Ducks 2: In Anaheim, Wayne Simmonds scored 44 seconds into overtime with a puck that ricocheted off Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano’s skate.