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NHL roundup: Capitals start quick, hold off Rangers

[March 29, 2021] Tom Wilson scored two goals and Alex Ovechkin added one more as the Washington Capitals notched three goals in a four-plus minute span of the second period before holding on for a 5-4 victory over the visiting New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Those three goals came in a span of 4 minutes, 24 seconds and gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead. Evgeny Kuznetsov made it 4-0 early in the third period, but the Rangers scored four times in nearly 9 1/2 minutes although they never caught Washington.

T.J. Oshie finished with one goal and two assists to help the Capitals, while Ilya Samsonov made 16 saves. Washington now has won three in a row and 10 of its last 11 games. Ovechkin continued his roll and has scored 11 goals in that run.

Colin Blackwell celebrated his 28th birthday with two goals for New York, while Alexis Lafreniere and Chris Kreider both scored once. Keith Kinkaid made 17 stops for New York.

The Rangers got their bench boss back as coach David Quinn returned after missing six games while on the COVID-19 protocol list -- New York went 4-2-0 under acting coach Kris Knoblauch -- who remained as an assistant for this game along with Jacques Martin.

Panthers 4, Stars 1

Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and had an assist to lead Florida past host Dallas in a game marred by an injury to Panthers' No. 1 defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

The No. 1 overall selection in the 2014 draft, Ekblad fell after being tangled up near the end boards with Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell in the Florida offensive zone at 8:58 of the second period.

After about 10 minutes, Ekblad was stretchered off the ice.

Huberdeau's tallies give him 18 points -- seven goals and 11 assists -- in 16 career games against Dallas. He assisted on Owen Tippett's empty-net goal with 1:05 left in regulation.

Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1

Michael Rasmussen scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and goalie Calvin Pickard collected his second win in as many days, leading host Detroit past Columbus.

Pickard had not recorded a victory since November 2018 until the back-to-back wins in his first two starts this season. He made 16 saves Sunday, one day after saving 20 of 21 shots as the Red Wings beat Columbus 3-1 on Saturday. Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan exited the game in the opening period with an upper-body injury.

Jack Roslovic scored the only goal for Columbus, which has lost four consecutive games (0-3-1). Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves.

Ducks 3, Blues 2 (OT)

Josh Manson scored in overtime to lift visiting Anaheim over St. Louis.

Adam Henrique and Cam Fowler also scored for the Ducks, who won back-to-back games for just the third time this season.

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Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates with defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) defenseman Justin Schultz (2) left wing Jakub Vrana (13) and center Nicklas Backstrom (19) after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers] during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

With goaltender John Gibson on the shelf again -- with a lower-body injury, after making 33 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Blues Friday -- the Ducks gave Anthony Stolarz his first start of the season, and Stolarz made 38 saves to earn the victory.

Devils 1, Bruins 0

Kyle Palmieri scored in the first period, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 40 shots he faced and New Jersey withstood a furious last-minute flurry by host Boston to eke out a win.

The shutout was the first of the season for Blackwood but the second time this season a Devils goalie has recorded 40 saves in a 1-0 win over the Bruins. Scott Wedgewood also did it in Boston on March 7.

The Bruins appeared to tie the game with 1:10 left when Patrice Bergeron poked a loose puck into the net, but the Devils challenged the call and it was overturned due to goalie interference on David Krejci. The Bruins thought they tied the score again in the final seconds, when a putback attempt by Nick Ritchie came within centimeters of landing over the goal line before Blackwood sprawled out and pushed the puck away with his pads. Boston initially celebrated as New Jersey iced the puck, but the no goal call stood upon review with 1.1 seconds left.

Predators 3, Blackhawks 2

Roman Josi scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:33 remaining in the third period and Nashville held on to defeat host Chicago.

Nashville won its season-high fifth game in a row and swept the weekend series over the Blackhawks. Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist for the Predators, and Calle Jarnkrok added a goal. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 27 of 29 shots to improve to 9-11-1 on the season. It was his 368th career win.

Alex DeBrincat scored a pair of goals in a losing effort for the Blackhawks, who have dropped six of their past eight games. Pius Suter picked up a pair of assists. Malcolm Subban gave up three goals on 31 shots for the Blackhawks. He fell to 4-5-1.

--Field Level Media

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