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NHL roundup: Letestu, Jackets down Caps

[February 27, 2018] Mark Letestu scored in his return to the Columbus Blue Jackets and helped pave the way for a 5-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals on Monday night.

Letestu, who previously played for Columbus from 2011 to 2015, was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday to provide depth at center.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who appeared in his franchise-record 984th game, had a first-period goal, his NHL-leading 39th on the season. The teams got into a scuffle at the first-period horn, and Ovechkin was shaken up when he was hit in the face by Matt Calvert, leaving blood on the ice. Following a discussion by the officials, Calvert was called for a match penalty for the infraction.

The Blue Jackets set the early tone and led 4-1 in the opening period on goals by Artemi Panarin, Sonny Milano, Letestu and Seth Jones. Cam Atkinson added an empty-net goal in the third period.

Lightning 4, Maple Leafs 3 (SO)

Brayden Point scored the lone goal in a shootout, leading Tampa Bay to a victory over visiting Toronto.

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was credited with 27 saves, including a penalty-shot stop on Mitch Marner with 6:02 left in the third period. He stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout, helping Tampa Bay earn a fourth consecutive win.

Tyler Johnson, Adam Erne and Chris Kunitz scored in regulation for Tampa Bay, which lost NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov in the first period due to an upper-body injury. Marner, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, who got 39 saves from Frederik Andersen.

Flyers 1, Canadiens 0 (SO)

Philadelphia goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped all 28 shots he faced through regulation and overtime, and Sean Couturier scored in the bottom of the sixth round of a shootout to give the Flyers a win at Montreal.

Couturier beat Lindgren on the blocker side with the score tied 1-1 after Paul Byron and Jakub Voracek scored in the shootout session.

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Mrazek recorded his first shutout for the Flyers and won his third straight game with Philadelphia since being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings a week ago. Goalie Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves for Montreal in his first start since Nov. 21.

Kings 2, Golden Knights 1 (OT)

Dustin Brown scored a power-play goal with 1:46 remaining in overtime as Los Angeles rallied to defeat visiting Vegas.

Anze Kopitar, who had an assist on the game-winner, forced overtime when he scored with 10.8 seconds left in regulation.

Jeff Carter also scored for the Kings, who trailed 2-0 in the third period. Smith and Erik Haula scored for the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights, who got 41 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 37 shots.

Avalanche 3, Canucks 1

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals, including the winner, as Colorado beat Vancouver in Denver.

MacKinnon's first goal, on a wrist shot during a rush down the wing at 7:52 of the third period, gave the Avalanche an insurmountable 2-0 lead. His 28th of the season went into an empty net in the final minute after Daniel Sedin scored a minute earlier for the Canucks.

Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 of 32 shots. Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, starting for the second night in a row, recorded 25 saves on 27 shots. On Sunday, he stopped 41 shots in a 3-1 win at Arizona.

--Field Level Media

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