Ovechkin scores OT winner in his return
Calgary gives Montreal its first regulation defeat
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored the overtime winner in his return and Vitek Vanecek made 40 saves in his sixth consecutive start as the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHL’s East Division.
Ovechkin beat Tuukka Rask clean off the rush 28 seconds into OT in his first game since Jan. 19. The Capitals captain missed the past four games because of COVID-19 protocols.
FLAMES 2, CANADIENS 0: In Montreal, Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves for his second shutout of the season, Johnny Gaudreau and Mikael Backlund scored, and Calgary handed Montreal its first regulation loss of the season.
The Flames improved to 3-3-1, snapping a three-game losing streak that included a 4-2 loss to the Canadiens on Thursday night. Montreal dropped to 5-1-2.
OILERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3 (OT): In Edmonton, Alberta, Connor McDavid scored his second goal of the night 42 seconds into OT to lift Edmonton.
McDavid redirected a pass from Leon Draisaitl off the rush for his seventh goal of the season. McDavid also had an assist.
SABRES 4, DEVILS 3 (SO): In Buffalo, N.Y., Jack Eichel scored in a shootout, Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and Buffalo beat New Jersey.
Victor Olofsson, Tobias Rieder and Eric Staal also scored to help the Sabres improve to 3-0-2 in their past five games.
FLYERS 3, ISLANDERS 2 (OT): In Philadelphia, Scott Laughton scored in overtime and Jake Voracek and Kevin Hayes also had goals to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York.
Jordan Eberle and Scott Mayfield scored for the Islanders.
LIGHTNING 4, PREDATORS 3: In Tampa, Fla., Tyler Johnson, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos scored in the second period in Tampa Bay’s victory over Nashville.
Brayden Point had two assists to help Tampa Bay end a five-period goal drought with the big second.
BLUES 6, DUCKS 1: In Anaheim, Calif., Jordan Kyrou scored two of the Blues’ three goals in the opening 2:06 and St. Louis cruised to a victory over Anaheim.
Zach Sanford also scored during the three fastest goals to open a game in Blues history. The flurry also was the fifth-fastest three goals to begin a game in NHL history.
PANTHERS 3, RED WINGS 2 (OT): In Detroit, Aleksi Heponiemi made the most of his NHL debut, scoring with 2:15 left in overtime to lift Florida over Detroit.
Heponiemi scored from the left side of the net after Anthony Duclair lifted the puck over an opponent’s stick and across the crease to set up the game-winner. Seconds earlier, Duclair was stopped on a breakaway
PENGUINS 5, RANGERS 4 (OT): In New York, Sidney Crosby scored at 2:27 of overtime as Pittsburgh beat New York to stop a two-game skid.
Jason Zucker, Brandon Tanev, Kasperi Kapanen and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh, and Casey DeSmith made 30 saves. Guentzel tied it 4-all midway through the third period.
HURRICANES 4, STARS 1: In Raleigh, N.C., Vincent Trocheck scored twice in a three-minute span in the first period as Carolina beat Dallas after Hurricanes starting goalie Petr Mrazek left the game with an apparent wrist injury in the opening minutes.
James Reimer replaced Mrazek and stopped 10 of 11 shots.
AVALANCHE 5, WILD 1: In St. Paul, Minn., Brandon Saad had a goal and assist to lead a balanced scoring attack in Colorado’s victory over Minnesota.
Logan O’Connor, Joonas Donskoi, Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher also scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves for his NHL-best sixth victory.