Alex Ovechkin on Saturday scored a stunning go-ahead goal early in the third period and set up another as the Washington Capitals opened the season with a 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
With the score at two, Ovechkin got possession in his own zone, streaked down the ice and eluded defender John Moore by pulling the puck behind his right leg to his backhand.
He dragged it back across his body in time to fire a wrist shot above goalkeeper Keith Kinkaid’s left shoulder.
Photo: AFP
Ovechkin later fed Marcus Johansson on a power play to make it 4-2, and Matt Niskanen scored an empty-net goal at 17 minutes, 7 seconds.
Jason Chimera and Brooks Orpik also scored for the Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 21 saves.
Adam Henrique scored twice and Eric Gelinas had a goal for New Jersey. The Devils lost for the second time in two days.
RANGERS 5, BLUE JACKETS 2
Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves and Oscar Lindberg scored twice to help New York beat Columbus for the second straight night.
Dominic Moore, Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan added a goal apiece in New York’s home opener, following two road victories to open the season.
Lindberg has four goals in New York’s first three games.
He is the first rookie in franchise history to score at least one goal in a season’s first three games.
Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner scored for Columbus.
PANTHERS 7, FLYERS 1
Jaromir Jagr and Reilly Smith each scored twice, and Vincent Trocheck had a goal and three assists in Florida’s season-opening victory over Philadelphia.
Nick Bjugstad and Jussi Jokinen also scored goals, and Roberto Luongo made 39 saves.
The Panthers scored four goals on eight shots against Steve Mason in the first 6 minutes, 46 seconds, a modern NHL record for the fastest four goals to start a season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The 43-year-old Jagr is the NHL’s career leader in opening-day points with 39. He has 13 goals and 26 assists.
Michal Neuvirth replaced Mason after the fourth goal and made 19 saves.
Mark Streit scored for Philadelphia.
BLACKHAWKS 4, ISLANDERS 1
Patrick Kane and rookie Artemi Panarin each had a goal and two assists to help Chicago beat New York for the second straight night.
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk added his first career NHL goal, and Brent Seabrook also scored as the Blackhawks cruised to their first home win of the season.
Scott Darling made 28 saves for the Blackhawks in his first start of the season.
He was working on a shutout before Cal Clutterbuck got a short-handed goal with 1 minute, 5 seconds left in the third.
In other games, it was:
‧ Sharks 2, Ducks 0
‧ Canadiens 4, Bruins 2
‧ Wild 3, Blues 2
‧ Red Wings 4, Hurricanes 3
‧ Predators 2, Oilers 0
‧ Coyotes 2, Penguins 1
‧ Senators 5, Maple Leafs 4, SO
‧ Avalanche 6, Stars 3
‧ Lightning 4, Sabres 1
‧ Flames 3, Canucks 2, OT
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but