NHL roundup: Caps blast Bruins on banner night

[October 04, 2018]  T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the game's first two minutes as the Washington Capitals began defense of their Stanley Cup title in style with a 7-0 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.

It was the largest shutout win by a defending Stanley Cup champion in a season opener.

The Capitals raised the first championship banner in team history before a sellout crowd before the game. It was a red banner saying "Stanley Cup Champions 2018" with the Cup itself on the ice, and the players standing right there watching.

Kuznetsov finished with two goals, while Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, Nic Dowd, John Carlson and Lars Eller each added one. Nicklas Backstrom posted three assists to help give new coach Todd Reirden a memorable first victory.

Maple Leafs 3, Canadiens 2 (OT)

Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the game 1:01 into overtime, and Toronto defeated visiting Montreal.

Matthews scored on a shot from the slot that went up and under the bar after he took a precise pass from Patrick Marleau.

John Tavares also scored in his Maple Leafs debut, with Nazem Kadri earning two assists. Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 34 shots.

Canucks 5, Flames 2

Elias Pettersson collected a goal and an assist in his NHL debut to lead host Vancouver over Calgary.

Pettersson, a 19-year-old drafted fifth overall by Canucks in 2017, became only the fourth player in Canucks history to collect a multiple-point game in his NHL debut.

Capitals center Lars Eller (20) scores a goal on Boston Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (41) as Bruins center Noel Acciari (55) defends in the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Nikolay Goldobin, Brendan Leipsic, Jake Virtanen and Tyler Motte also scored for the Canucks, while goalie Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves to earn the victory. The Flames went 0-for-7 on the power play.

Ducks 5, Sharks 2

Brandon Montour, Adam Henrique and Carter Rowney scored third-period goals, and John Gibson made 31 saves to lead Anaheim to victory at San Jose.

Rickard Rakell scored a goal and had two assists, and rookie left winger Max Comtois also scored a goal for the Ducks, who won despite being outshot 33-15. Jakob Silfverberg finished with three assists, and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists for Anaheim. Henrique also had two points.

Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl each scored goals for San Jose, which fell in the debut of defenseman Erik Karlsson. Martin Jones stopped just 10 of the 14 shots he faced.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.