NHL roundup: Alex Ovechkin nets 2nd straight hat trick, Caps top ‘Canes in SO
RALEIGH, N.C. – Alex Ovechkin had his second consecutive hat trick and Jakub Vrana scored in the sixth round of a shootout to lead the Washington Capitals past the Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 on Friday night.
Ovechkin’s three goals gave him an NHL-best 28 this season and nine in his last five games. His 13-game point streak matched his career high set in 2006-07.
Tom Wilson and Travis Boyd also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who have won 11 of 13. The Metropolitan Division leaders got three goals in a 5:42 span of the second to tie it at 4, a burst capped when Boyd redirected in John Carlson’s shot with 1:41 left in the period.
Justin Williams scored the tying goal with 6:12 remaining, and Sebastian Aho had two goals and two assists for Carolina. Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and two assists and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes, who had three power-play goals but have lost three straight and six of seven.
Dougie Hamilton and Nicklas Backstrom both scored in the fourth round of the shootout. After Braden Holtby stopped Brock McGinn in the sixth round, Vrana ended it with a wrist shot to Scott Darling’s glove side.
Penguins 5, Bruins 3
PITTSBURGH – Jake Guentzel tipped in Kris Letang’s shot midway through the third period to fend off a Boston rally, and Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith made it stand up.
Chris Wagner and David Krejci scored in a 54-second span of the third to erase a two-goal deficit for the Bruins, but Guentzel responded by redirecting Letang’s drive from the point past Jaroslav Halak with 9:13 left to put Pittsburgh ahead to stay.
DeSmth did the rest, finishing with a career-high 48 saves as the Penguins ended Boston’s three-game winning streak. Zach Aston-Reese had a short-handed goal and an empty-netter. Derek Grant and Phil Kessel also scored for Pittsburgh.
Brandon Carlo scored for the first time in 115 games and Halak stopped 24 shots for Boston.
Devils 5, Golden Knights 4, OT
NEWARK, N.J. – Nico Hischier scored 41 seconds into overtime to cap New Jersey’s comeback from three goals down against Vegas.
Travis Zajac, Miles Wood, Kyle Palmieri and Brett Sevey also scored for the Devils, who trailed 3-0 after one period and 4-1 in the second before rallying for their second win in five games. Cory Schneider gave up three goals on seven shots over the first 9:22 before he was pulled. Keith Kinkaid came on and finished with 14 saves.
William Karlsson had two goals, and Alex Tuch and William Carrier also scored for the Golden Knights, who lost for just the third time in their last 12 games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves and remained one win from tying Hall of Famer Tony Esposito for ninth place on the career list.
Coyotes 4, Rangers 3, OT
NEW YORK – Derek Stepan scored against his former team with 32 seconds left on the clock in overtime and Arizona rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat New York, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Jordan Oesterle, Josh Archibald and Oliver Ekman-Larsson also scored for the Coyotes, who trailed 3-0 early in the second period. Adin Hill stopped 27 shots.
Kevin Hayes had a goal and an assist, and Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who went 3 for 7 on the power play. Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves.
With less than seven minutes remaining in the third, Arizona scored twice in 3:48 to tie it.
Jets 4, Blackhawks 3, OT
CHICAGO – Mark Scheifele scored twice, including 50 seconds into overtime, and Winnipeg edged Chicago for its fourth consecutive victory.
Scheifele dug the puck out from behind the net, skated around the side and beat Corey Crawford for his 20th goal of the season. He has four goals and seven assists during a four-game point streak, including goals in each of the last three games.
The Blackhawks trailed 3-2 before Erik Gustafsson drove a one-timer from the slot past Laurent Brossoit with 7.5 seconds remaining in the third period.
Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault also scored as the Jets leapfrogged idle Nashville for the top spot in the Western Conference. Blake Wheeler had three more assists to run his total to 38, second in the league behind Colorado star Mikko Rantanen.
Winnipeg (21-9-2) won for the eighth time in nine games.
Jonathan Toews scored twice for last-place Chicago (10-19-5), which lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Crawford finished with 38 saves.
Blues 4, Avalanche 3, OT
ST. LOUIS – Ryan O’Reilly scored a short-handed goal 2:05 into overtime to give St. Louis a victory over Colorado.
Colton Parayko scored twice and Ivan Barbashev also had a goal for the Blues. Jake Allen made 39 saves.
J.T. Compher had a goal and an assist, and Sven Andrighetto and Matt Calvert also scored for the Avalanche. Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots.
Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko was called for playing with illegal equipment in overtime after picking up Parayko’s stick. O’Reilly scored 34 seconds later after getting sprung by a pass from Robert Bortuzzo.
Senators 4, Red Wings 2
DETROIT – Mark Stone scored midway through the third period and Chris Tierney’s second goal went into an empty net, lifting Ottawa over Detroit.
Stone had a goal overturned by video review in the first period, but there was no disputing the go-ahead goal he sent into the net after the puck was loose in the crease behind goaltender Jimmy Howard.
Tierney and Thomas Chabot gave the Senators a 2-0 lead in the first. Craig Anderson finished with 23 saves.
Detroit’s Luke Glendening scored late in the first period and Dylan Larkin tied it midway through the second.
Oilers 4, Flyers 1
EDMONTON, Alberta – Connor McDavid had two goals and an assist, Leon Draisaitl added three assists and the resurgent Edmonton Oilers beat Philadelphia.
Alex Chiasson and Adam Larsson also scored for the Oilers (18-12-3), who have won five of six and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. They improved to 9-2-2 under new coach Ken Hitchcock.
Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves and is 7-0-0 on home ice this season.
Sean Couturier was initially credited with Philadelphia’s goal before it was given to Jakub Voracek after the game. The Flyers (12-14-4) have lost three in a row and six of eight.