NHL roundup: Caps clip Coyotes

[February 23, 2016]  The Sports Xchange

 WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin and Mike Richards scored third-period goals 26 seconds apart, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 Monday for their fourth straight win.

Ovechkin broke a 1-1 tie at 8:17 of the third when his wrister from the left circle beat Arizona goalie Louis Domingue to the short side. It was the 39th of the season and 10th in the past eight games for the NHL goal-scoring leader, who added an assist.

Richards scored his first goal as a member of the Capitals in his 15th game at 8:43. Evgeny Kuznetsov also had a goal and an assist for Washington, which has won nine of 10 overall and is 17-1-1 in its last 19 home games.

Kevin Connauton and Connor Murphy scored for Arizona.
 

Blue Jackets 6, Bruins 4

BOSTON -- Boone Jenner notched his second two-goal game in the last four, and Columbus improved to 5-1-1 in their past seven road games.

William Karlsson, Scott Hartnell, Brandon Saad and Dalton Prout also scored for Columbus, which is 7-2-2 over its last 11 games but still came into the game with the third-worst point total in the NHL.

The Bruins, coming off a 4-2 road trip, came in with the league's third-worst home record and dropped to 12-15-3 at TD Garden. They have allowed 15 goals in their past two home games and are 1-3-1 in their past five.

Predators 2, Canadiens 1 (SO)

MONTREAL -- Craig Smith scored the shootout winner to lift Nashville past Montreal.

Mike Condon stopped 29 shots for the Canadiens, while Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the Predators.

Viktor Arvidsson scored in regulation for Nashville, while Brendan Gallagher connected for the Canadiens. Both goals came in the first period.

Sharks 6, Blues 3

ST. LOUIS -- Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Joe Thornton each scored two goals to lead San Jose to a win over St. Louis.

The Blues had gone 6-0-1 since their last regulation loss on Feb. 4, also to the Sharks, who have won four of their last five games in St. Louis. San Jose improved to 5-1-1 in its past seven games.

It was the second two-goal game of the season for Hertl, while Couture recorded his first multi-goal game since Jan. 21, 2015. Thornton's pair included an empty-net goal.

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