Alex Ovechkin scored three times in the second period for his 14th career hat-trick as the Washington Capitals beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Thursday night.
Ovechkin, who leads the league with 34 goals, has 13 in his past 13 games. Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, while Jason Chimera added an empty-netter for Washington, who improved to a league-best 20-5-2 on the road.
Braden Holtby made 33 saves for the Capitals, who won their fifth consecutive game and became the first team to reach 40 victories this season.
Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter and Mikael Granlund scored for the Wild, but Minnesota lost for the 12th time in their past 13 games (1-10-2). Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves for the Wild, who have lost seven in a row at home (0-4-3).
STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 2
In Chicago, Patrick Eaves scored three of Dallas’ four goals in the first period as the Stars avenged an ugly home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Eaves’ second career hat-trick helped Dallas to their fifth win in six games and moved the Stars within one of the Blackhawks for the most points in the Western Conference. Dallas’ lone loss during the strong stretch was a 5-1 rout for visiting Chicago last Saturday night.
John Klingberg added a goal and an assist for Dallas.
Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane scored for the Blackhawks, who played without forward Artemi Panarin for the second straight game due to an illness.
ISLANDERS 5, KINGS 2
In New York, John Tavares had a goal and an assist, while Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots as the New York Islanders scored three times in the first 14 minutes to beat Los Angeles.
Johnny Boychuk, Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee all scored in the first period and Travis Hamonic added an empty-netter in the third to help the Islanders win their third straight overall and third in a row at home. New York improved to 15-4-2 against Western Conference teams.
In other NHL action, it was:
Flyers 5, Sabres 1
Blue Jackets 4, Ducks 3, SO
Avalanche 4, Senators 3
Bruins 6, Jets 2
Oilers 5, Maple Leafs 2
Flames 6, Sharks 5, SO
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS