Nicklas Backstrom on Saturday scored in the third period, helping the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.
Jay Beagle and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the NHL-leading Capitals. Braden Holtby stopped 20 shots.
Washington improved to 12-0-2 in their past 14 games at Montreal. The Capitals’ last regulation loss at Bell Centre was on Jan. 10, 2009.
Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY
Alexander Radulov and Max Pacioretty scored for Montreal, while Carey Price made 27 saves.
With the Capitals leading 2-1 and Radulov in the box for hooking, Backstrom scored his 15th of the season at 5 minutes, 16 seconds of the third.
MAPLE LEAFS 6, BRUINS 5
In Boston, William Nylander got his first career hat-trick and James van Riemsdyk scored his second of the game to break a tie with 1 minute, 36 seconds left as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak.
Connor Brown also scored for Toronto, who moved one point behind Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have played five fewer games than the Bruins.
David Pastrnak scored two goals for Boston, while Ryan Spooner, Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug each added one. Bergeron and Krug had power-play goals.
Toronto’s Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots.
PENGUINS 4, BLUES 1
In St Louis, Missouri, Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 shots as Pittsburgh beat St Louis.
Kris Letang and Justin Schultz also scored for the Penguins, while Patrik Berglund scored for St Louis, who handed new coach Mike Yeo his first loss after replacing Ken Hitchcock.
DEVILS 5, BLUE JACKETS 1
In Columbus, Ohio, Taylor Hall scored twice, while Travis Zajac had a goal and an assist as New Jersey beat Columbus.
Jacob Josefson and Seth Helgeson also scored and Cory Schneider had 31 saves for the Devils.
Matt Calvert scored for Columbus in the third period and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots.
BLACKHAWKS 5, STARS 3
In Dallas, Trevor van Riemsdyk put in a rebound with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left to lift Chicago over Dallas.
Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped a close-range shot by Artem Anisimov, but Van Riemsdyk followed to put the puck under Lehtonen and make it 4-3. Jonathan Toews added an empty-net goal in the final second.
The third period was dominated by scoring stars. Goals by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 9 minutes, 24 seconds, but Chicago’s Patrick Kane tied the game just 35 seconds after Seguin scored.
Radek Faksa also scored for Dallas and Lehtonen made 31 saves.
Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago, while Ryan Hartman and Gustav Forsling scored in the second period for the Blackhawks.
KINGS 1, FLYERS 0, OT
In Philadelphia, Peter Budaj posted his NHL-leading seventh shutout, while Jeff Carter scored midway through overtime as Los Angeles won their fifth in a row.
Budaj, who was not even on the Kings’ roster on opening night, extended his shutout streak to 144 minutes, 5 seconds. He made 17 saves.
Anze Kopitar set up the winning goal at 2 minutes, 35 seconds with a backhand pass across the crease to Carter, who whizzed a wrist shot past Michal Neuvirth. It was Carter’s 27th goal of the season.
Neuvirth made 27 saves for Philadelphia, including a sensational glove stop in the second period.
LIGHTNING 3, DUCKS 2, SO
In Tampa, Florida, Brian Boyle scored in the fourth round of the shoot-out as Tampa Bay defeated the Anaheim Ducks.
Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn scored in regulation, while Nikita Kucherov had two assists and Ben Bishop made 14 saves for the Lightning, who won the shoot-out 3-2.
Brandon Montour and Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, while Jonathan Bernier stopped 35 shots and Ryan Kesler picked up two assists.
In other results, it was:
‧ Hurricanes 5, Islanders 4, OT
‧ Red Wings 1, Predators 0
‧ Sabres 4, Senators 0
‧ Avalanche 5, Jets 2
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