Ovechkin powers Caps’ victory

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored four goals to become the first player in 100 years with back-to-back hat tricks to open a season, and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Saturday night.

Ovechkin had three goals in the third period in Thursday’s opening night win at Ottawa, then matched the feat while helping chase Montreal goalie Carey Price in the first period Saturday. He added his fourth goal at 16:46 of the second period against Al Montoya.

■ Penguins 4, Predators 0— At Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin scored, Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and Pittsburgh won a Stanley Cup Final rematch for its first victory of the season.

■ Maple Leafs 8, Rangers 5— At Toronto, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals and Toronto won its wild home opener. The Maple

Leafs pulled ahead 5-1 in the first period.

■ Blackhawks 5, Blue

Jackets 1 — At Chicago, Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and assist to lead Chicago to a win.

■ Blues 4, Stars 2 — At St. Louis, Jake Allen made 38 saves and the Blues used three first-period goals to spoil coach Ken Hitchcock’s return to St. Louis.

■ Flyers 3, Ducks 2, OT —

At Anaheim, Calif., Wayne Simmonds scored 44 seconds into overtime to give Philadelphia its second win in three games.

■ Kings 4, Sharks 1 — At San Jose, Calif., Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist to help Los Angeles win its first road game of the season.

■ Panthers 5, Lightning 4— At Sunrise, Fla., Jared McCann scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Florida gave coach Bob Boughner his first NHL win.

■ Red Wings 2, Senators 1, SO — At Ottawa, Ontario, Frans Nielsen scored the only goal in the shootout and Detroit handed Ottawa its second straight shootout loss.

■ Islanders 6, Sabres 3

— At New York, John Tavares scored twice to lead New York to a win in its home opener Saturday. Casey Cizikas had two goals and an assist for the Islanders.

■ Hurricanes 5, Wild 4, SO

— At Raleigh, N.C., Jaccob Slavin scored in the shootout and Carolina won its opener. Victor Rask scored late in regulation for the Hurricanes.

■ Devils 4, Avalanche 1 —

At Newark, N.J., Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher set up three power-play goals and new-look New Jersey opened its season with a win.

■ Flames 6, Jets 3 — At Calgary, Alberta, T.J. Brodie scored two goals, including one of four second-period goals for Calgary, and the Flames won their home opener.

■ Canucks 3, Oilers 2 —

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Bo Horvat scored two goals and Vancouver won its season opener. Brandon Sutter also scored for the Canucks.