Sabres stay perfect
Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson scored 23 seconds apart in the third period and the Buffalo Sabres rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons each added a goal and an assist, and Craig Anderson made 32 saves. After finishing in last place for the fourth time in eight seasons, the Sabres are 3-0 for the first time since 2008 and the fifth time in franchise history.
Bo Horvat and Justin Dowling scored for the Canucks in their second straight loss. Thatcher Demko stopped 38 shots in the fourth of a sixgame trip, the longest to start a season in team history.
The Canucks played without defensemen Kyle Burroughs and Quinn Hughes. Hughes, the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, was scratched with an undisclosed injury after participating in an optional morning skate.
Capitals 6, Avalanche 3 — Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first two goals of the season, Alex Ovechkin added the 734th of his NHL career into an empty net and the Washington Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche.
Kuznetsov was the most noticeable player on the ice from his first shift on, skating around defenders with ease and showing off the talent that made him the Capitals’ leading scorer on their 2018 Stanley Cup run. The Russian center who struggled last season and was intent on a bounce-back performance brought back his flapping wings bird celebration that was fitting on a night he showed some of the best he can offer.
Sharks 5, Canadiens 0 — The Sharks have only played two games but already it feels like they’re a different team than they’ve been the last two seasons.
Timo Meier had a goal and two assists, Jonathan Dahlen scored his first two NHL goals and Logan Couture added two assists in a dominating performance by the Sharks’ top line.
Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc also scored as the Sharks won the first two games of the season.
Panthers 4, Lighting 1 — The Lightning know they can’t replace Nikita Kucherov, but they do know what it’s like to win without their top player.
In their first game this season without the star forward, who is sidelined on long-term injured reserve with an apparent lower body injury, the Lightning had their chances against the Panthers at Amalie Arena.
They played a frantically-paced matchup that was absent of the typical fisticuffs with their state rival, but the Lightning clearly missed Kucherov in a loss.
When Kucherov missed all of the last regular season while recovering from hip surgery, the Lightning had the preseason to get used to playing without him. This time, at the start of the season, it appears they might need some time to find their footing.
Stars 2, Penguins 1 — Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov scored in a shootout to lift the Dallas Stars over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pavelski and Radulov both beat Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry with backhands to help Dallas end a seasonopening four-game trip on a high note.
Michael Raffl scored his second goal of the season for the Stars.
Goaltender Braden Holtby turned aside 27 shots in regulation overtime and stopped Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang in the shootout as Dallas ended a five-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.