Caps’ Wilson scores in return
Tom Wilson returned early from his player-safety suspension and scored a first-period goal, helping the Washington Capitals cool off Minnesota with a 5-2 victory on Tuesday night for the Wild’s first regulation loss at home.
“He’s a key player for our team. Brings so much energy both on the ice and off the ice, so a huge lift for the team to get him back,” said Andre Burakovsky, who had a goal and an assist.
“Some hits, he’s going to have to avoid. They’re too risky,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in Toronto. “He’s going to have to avoid some hits and he’s going to have to let up on some hits also. You can’t have the same force because he hits hard and it looks bad, and sometimes he’s going to be evaluated on the force.”
Dmitry Orlov had his first two goals of the season and an assist, Burakovsky and T.J. Oshie also scored and Pheonix Copley made 26 saves for the Capitals, whose four-game road trip was jump-started in the morning by an arbitrator’s reduction of Wilson’s 20-game ban by six games to make him immediately eligible again.
Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise had goals for the Wild, who played at home for the first time in 17 days after a 5-2 finish on their franchise-record seven-game road swing. They fell to 5-1-2 at Xcel Energy Center, becoming the last team in the NHL to lose at home in regulation this season.
RASK RETURNS FOR BRUINS >> Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask returned to practice after taking a
three-day leave of absence to attend to a personal matter.
“This is a family and we are a family and we take care of each other when times are tough,” Rask said about the team he’s been with since 2006.
The Bruins granted Rask the leave of absence on Friday. Rask acknowledged the matter was related to his family, but didn’t share details.
“I have a job, my job is to be a hockey goalie for the Boston Bruins,” he said Tuesday. “And I also have another job title, that’s a family man, and this was a time that deep inside my heart I felt like I needed to take time to be with my family and make things right so I could be back here and focus on my job.”
When asked if he felt unburdened after the time off, he said “yes” and added “resigning (or) quitting the job wasn’t” something he considered.
The 31-year-old Rask is second on the Bruins’ all-time list in games played (457) and wins (242). He’s 12 games and 11 wins from passing Tiny Thompson for the franchise records. This season, he’s struggled with a 4-4-0 record, .901 save percentage and 3.05 GAA.
PANTHERS 2, FLYERS 1 >> Aaron Ekblad and Evgenii Dadonov scored goals, Roberto Luongo made 29 saves and Florida beat Philadelphia for its fifth straight win.
ISLANDERS 5, CANUCKS 2 >> Tom Kuhnhackl scored two unusual goals to lead New York to a victory over Vancouver.
DEVILS 4, PENGUINS 2 >> Taylor Hall scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway at 8:07 of the third period and added an empty-net tally to lead New Jersey to a victory over struggling Pittsburgh.
RED WINGS 6, COYOTES 1 >> Defenseman Mike Green had a goal and two assists and Detroit extended its winning streak to four games.
SABRES 2, LIGHTNING 1 >> Carter Hutton stopped 30 shots and Buffalo won its third straight game by beating Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay.
OILERS 6, CANADIENS 2 >> Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists for Edmonton.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, KINGS 1 >> Nazem Kadri had two goals to help lift Toronto over struggling L.A.