Giroux’s four points lift Flyers

Claude Giroux was nervous about centering the Philadelphia Flyers’ top line for the first time in two seasons. Once he settled in, Giroux guided the Flyers to their most goals in a game in nearly two months. Philadelphia’s captain had a goal and three assists yesterday in a 6-2 victory against the Sabres in Buffalo. “I’d like to tell you it’s like riding a bike, but it’s not,” Giroux said. “But it turned out great tonight.” With Sean Couturier out because of a lower-body injury, Giroux moved from right wing to center in Philadelphia’s lead group of forwards. He had four points in a game for the first time since Oct. 14, 2017. “It’s not easy, but he’s a natural centerman,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s our captain and stepped up in a lot of different fashions tonight.” James van Riemsdyk also moved up to the top line and had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who opened a fivegame road trip with their third win in 10 games. Ivan Provorov, Wayne Simmonds, Dale Weise and Travis Konecny also scored. Michael Raffl had two assists and Anthony Stolarz made 28 saves. Jack Eichel scored twice for the Sabres, who have lost five straight following a 10-game winning streak. Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 0 — Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 22nd goal and Braden Holtby (28 saves) earned his 34th career shutout as Washington blanked host Columbus. Travis Boyd had a goal and an assist, and Brett Connolly and Dmitrij Jaskin also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who stayed atop the Metropolitan Division, moving three points ahead of Columbus. Kings 5, Golden Knights 1 — Derek Forbort had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Quick made 29 saves and host Los Angeles cruised past Vegas. It was only the sixth time in 30 games the Kings gave scored four or more goals. Islanders 3, Red Wings 2 — Matt Martin scored a tiebreaking goal with 16:36 remaining in the third period, capping an impressive comeback as New York won in Detroit. The Islanders trailed 2-0 after the first period but rallied with goals by Casey Cizikas, Ryan Pulock and Martin. Senators 2, Penguins 1 — Ryan Dzingel scored on a power play at 1:20 of overtime to help host Ottawa edge Pittsburgh, which was called for too many men on the ice, setting up the winning man-advantage. Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan has a concussion and was placed on injured reserve, joining Matt Duchene (lower body). Rangers 5, Panthers 4 — In Sunrise, Fla., Kevin Hayes had the game-deciding goal in the third round of the shootout, giving New York a win against Florida. Lightning 7, Avalanche 1 — Steven Stamkos had two goals and two assists as NHL-leading Tampa Bay won its sixth consecutive game, beating Colorado in Tampa. Stamkos scored twice in the first period and had two second-period assists. It was his franchise-best 13th fourpoint game. Elsewhere in the NHL — The Anaheim Ducks have extended general manager Bob Murray’s contract for two seasons.