Cirelli’s goal leads Lightning by Capitals
Lightning 3, Capitals 2: Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and host Tampa Bay beat Washington Monday night, ending the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.
Tampa Bay also got goals from Alex Killorn and Brayden Point. Taylor Raddysh picked up his first NHL point, coming in his eighth game, by assisting on Point’s goal
Brett Leason got his first NHL goal and Conor Sheary also scored for the the Capitals, who came in 5-0-3. Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots.
Washington star Alex Ovechkin had his season-opening eight-game point streak (nine goals, six assists) end. He remains two goals away from tying Brett Hull (741) for fourth place all-time.
Ovechkin had a shot on goal and two more attempts from the top of the left circle blocked by Erik Cernak during a late first-period power play.
Blackhawks 5, Senators 1: Patrick Kane had three goals and an assist in his return to the lineup, and host Chicago beat Ottawa for its first win of the season.
Led by Kane and Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 29 saves in another solid performance, Chicago improved to 17-2 in front of a half-full United Center. Brandon Hagel scored twice, and captain Jonathan Toews had three assists.
Kane was sidelined for the previous four games because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, and Chicago sorely missed his unique offensive ability. It lost 1-0 at St. Louis on Saturday night, finishing with 25 shots on goal.
Matt Murray made 26 stops for Ottawa in his first game since he was kneed in the head during a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 23. Alex Formenton stopped Fleury’s bid for his 68th career shutout with his second of the season 1:41 into the third.
Kane’s seventh hat trick in the regular season gave him 408 career goals, moving him ahead of Steve Larmer for third on the franchise list. He also jumped over Denis Savard for third on the Blackhawks’ points list with 1,097.