AROUND THE NHL | Recaps of Saturday’s games

Penguins 4, Predators 0

PITTSBURGH

Evgeni Malkin scored, Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators in a Stanley Cup Final rematch. Olli Maatta, Ryan Reaves and Jake Guentzel also scored in Pittsburgh’s first win in its third game of the season. Murray, who allowed 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two games, posted his sixth career shutout. He also shut out Nashville in the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final in June.

Blackhawks 5, Blue Jackets 1

CHICAGO

Brandon Saad (Mahoning Valley Phantoms), Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and assist to lead Chicago over Columbus. Richard Panik also scored and Jan Rutta got his first NHL goal as Chicago followed up on a season-opening 10-1 rout of Pittsburgh with another solid performance. Corey Crawford made 32 saves for Chicago, while Joonas Korpisalo blocked 24 shots.

Capitals 6, Canadiens 1

WASHINGTON

Alex Ovechkin scored four goals to become the first player in 100 years with back-to-back hat tricks to open a season, and Washington beat Montreal . He added his fourth goal at 16:46 of the second period against Al Montoya. It was the fourth four-goal game of his career and second against the Canadiens. Braden Holtby stopped 38 shots and T.J. Oshie also scored for Washington. Ovechkin opened the scoring 20 seconds in, added his second goal at 2:51 and his third at 18:10. Evgeny Kutnetsov assisted on all four of Ovechkin’s goals. Nathan Walker, a Youngstown Phantom in 2013, scored a goal for Washington in his first NHL game. He is the seventh former Phantom to play in the NHL.

Islanders 6, Sabres 3

NEW YORK

John Tavares scored twice to lead New York to a victory over Buffalo. Casey Cizikas had two goals and an assist, and Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier also scored for the Islanders, who won a night after losing 5-0 at Columbus. Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 shots. Evander Kane scored twice and Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who are still seeking their first win under new coach Phil Housley. Robin Lehner gave up four goals on 16 shots and was pulled early in the second. Chad Johnson finished with 15 saves.

Devils 4, Avalanche 1

NEWARK, N.J.

Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher set up three power-play goals to steal the spotlight from No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier, and the new-look New Jersey Devils opened the season with a victory over Colorado. Adam Henrique, Jimmy Hayes, rookie Jesper Bratt and John Moore scored as the Devils started eight players who were not with the team last year, when they posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Palmieri added two assists before leaving in the second period with a leg injury. Cory Schneider made 40 saves.

Hurricanes 5, Wild 4, SO

RALEIGH, N.C.

Jaccob Slavin scored in the shootout and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Minnesota Wild. Victor Rask scored late in regulation and Sebastian Aho had two key assists while Noah Hanifin, Joakim Nordstrom and Derek Ryan also scored to help Carolina win its opener. Mikko Koivu sent it to overtime by scoring in the final second of regulation. Jason Zucker, former Carolina captain Eric Staal and Chris Stewart also scored for the Wild. Scott Darling made 23 saves in his debut as a full-time starter in the NHL and his first game with the Hurricanes, who traded for him during the offseason and then signed him to a four-year contract. Slavin beat a sprawled-out Alex Stalock high with a backhand in the third round of the shootout, and Darling got a piece of Staal’s shot to end it.

Panthers 5, Lightning 4

SUNRISE, FLA.

Jared McCann scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period after a review overturned the initial ruling of goalie interference, and Florida beat Tampa Bay. Evgenii Dadonov and Nick Bjugstad each had a goal and an assist, and Vincent Trocheck and Colton Sceviour also scored goals for the Panthers. James Reimer made 26 saves. Trailing 3-2, the Panthers scored three goals in a span of 2:28 in the third period. The Panthers tied the score 3-all on Sceviour’s goal at 6:06. Moments later, McCann’s shot went over the shoulder of Vasilevskiy and into the net at 6:42. The goal was initially waved off due to goalie interference by Florida’s Connor Brickley. Upon review, the ruling was overturned and the goal was good. Trocheck stretched the Panthers’ lead to 5-3 when he poked in a rebound at 8:34.

Tampa Bay closed to 5-4 when Johnson swept in a loose puck from in front with 5:48 left in the third.

Red Wings 2, Senators 1, SO

OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Frans Nielsen scored the only goal in the shootout and Detroit edged Ottawa. Martin Frk had the lone goal in regulation for the Red Wings, who got 37 saves from Jimmy Howard. Frk broke a scoreless tie for Detroit at 17:26 of the third period, beating Anderson low glove side. Brassard responded just 43 seconds later, tipping Dion Phaneuf’s shot from just inside the blue line.

Maple Leafs 8, Rangers 5

TORONTO

Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals and Toronto held off New York in a wild home opener. It was an adventure in defending for both teams at times, with Toronto pulling ahead 5-1 in the first period and chasing Henrik Lundqvist before the Rangers scored four straight to quiet the Air Canada Centre crowd. Bozak ended the Maple Leafs’ slide to make it 6-5 at 7:17 of third, redirecting a pass from the corner from Jake Gardiner over Ondrej Pavelec’s glove. The Rangers lost a challenge that the play was offside, earning a minor penalty in the process. Kevin Hayes took a slashing penalty for New York, and Komarov made it 7-5 at 9:52, tapping in the rebound after William Nylander roofed a backhand off the crossbar.

Blues 4, Stars 2

ST. LOUIS

Jake Allen made 38 saves and the Blues used three first-period goals to beat Dallas and spoil coach Ken Hitchcock’s return to St. Louis. Carl Gunnarsson, Joel Edmundson and Jaden Schwartz each scored in a five-minute span in the first, and Vladimir Tarasenko added a power-play goal in the third. John Klingberg and Mattias Janmark scored for Dallas. Kari Lehtonen made 17 saves.

Associated Press