Washington’s Alex Ovechkin delivered his 34th career three-goal performance Thursday night, leading the Capitals in a dramatic comeback from a two-goal deficit to defeat Utah 7-4 in Salt Lake City.
The superstar forward now has 29 goals this season, marking his second hat trick of the campaign, while extending his NHL-record career total to 926 goals.
Ivan Miroshnichenko notched his first two goals of the season, while Anthony Beauvillier and Rasmus Sandin each contributed one goal and one assist for Washington. Goaltender Logan Thompson turned away 36 shots in the victory.
For Utah, Dylan Guenther found the net twice, and both Mikhail Sergachev and Clayton Keller recorded three assists each. Goalie Vitek Vanecek surrendered six goals on 23 shots before getting pulled midway through the final period, with Karel Vejmelka making one save in relief.
Ducks 3, Flames 2 (OT)
Mikael Granlund capped off his three-goal night with a dramatic overtime winner in the final seconds, lifting visiting Anaheim past Calgary.
John Carlson recorded two assists and Ville Husso made 23 saves for the Ducks, who have now won four consecutive games. Taking advantage of Calgary’s second too-many-men penalty of the contest, Anaheim enjoyed a power play late in overtime, with Granlund finishing a one-timer from the high slot just before time expired.
Blake Coleman and Matvei Gridin scored for Calgary, ending their four-game winning streak. Olli Maatta contributed two assists, while Devin Cooley made 30 saves.
Wild 3, Panthers 2
Marcus Foligno scored in his return from injury and Joel Eriksson Ek netted the winning goal with just five seconds remaining as Minnesota beat Florida in Sunrise, Fla.
Ryan Hartman also scored for the Wild, with Jesper Wallstedt making 18 saves. The game held special significance for Foligno, who played alongside his brother Nick for the first time since they were in sixth and ninth grades respectively. Nick Foligno joined Minnesota from Chicago earlier this month.
Matthew Tkachuk recorded a goal and assist while Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida, which received 47 saves from backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov. The Panthers have dropped four of their last six contests (2-4-0).
Canadiens 2, Blue Jackets 1
Zachary Bolduc scored the decisive goal early in the third period and assisted on Montreal’s other tally in a victory over visiting Columbus.
Jayden Struble also found the net for Montreal, which has won three straight games. Jakub Dobes stopped 25 shots.
Damon Severson scored while Jet Greaves made 18 saves for Columbus, which has lost two of its last three contests.
Islanders 2, Stars 1
New York secured crucial points in their playoff chase with a victory over Dallas in Elmont, N.Y.
Bo Horvat reached the 30-goal milestone for the fourth time in his career, and Calum Ritchie also scored. Matthew Schaefer assisted on both goals. Ilya Sorokin came within 2:59 of a shutout, making 26 saves. Combined with Pittsburgh’s victory over Ottawa, the result moved the Islanders back into the final Eastern Conference wild-card position.
Matt Duchene scored for Dallas, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss, marking their longest slide since a 0-3-3 stretch from late December to early January. Jake Oettinger, who was pulled after one period in his previous start against New Jersey, stopped 23 shots.
Kraken 4, Lightning 3 (OT)
Brandon Montour scored twice, including the overtime winner at 2:47, as Seattle prevailed at Tampa Bay.
Kaapo Kakko and Bobby McCann each recorded a goal and assist for the Kraken, who ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Seattle.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and assist, while Anthony Cirelli and Corey Perry also scored for Tampa Bay, which extended its point streak to six games (4-0-2). Charle-Edouard D’Astous added two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 of 19 shots.
Penguins 4, Senators 3 (SO)
Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel scored in the shootout to give Pittsburgh a victory over host Ottawa.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby departed early in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Rickard Rakell tallied two goals and an assist while Erik Karlsson contributed one goal and two assists. Stuart Skinner made 26 saves through regulation and overtime, then stopped two of Ottawa’s three shootout attempts.
Drake Batherson scored twice and netted the shootout goal while Nick Cousins added a goal for Ottawa, ending their four-game winning streak. Tim Stutzle recorded two assists. Linus Ullmark made 35 saves through regulation and overtime but stopped only one of three shootout attempts.
Additional Results:
Philadelphia dominated visiting Chicago 5-1, with Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates and Alex Bump each recording a goal and assist. New Jersey defeated Nashville 4-2 behind Nico Hischier’s second deflected goal of the night. Colorado beat Winnipeg 3-2 as Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in the third period. Edmonton topped Vegas 4-3 in overtime, with Connor McDavid becoming the third-fastest player to reach 800 career assists. Los Angeles shut out Vancouver 4-0 behind Darcy Kuemper’s 19 saves, and St. Louis edged San Jose 2-1 in overtime.
