Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, and Taylor Raddysh powered the Washington Capitals past the unbeaten Dallas Stars, while Nikita Kucherov delivered a game-winner for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Vegas Golden Knights. In other action, the Chicago Blackhawks won their home opener, Connor McDavid scored his first of the season, and Artemi Panarin recorded a hat trick for the New York Rangers. Here’s a breakdown of the top NHL action from Thursday.
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Capitals 3, Stars 2
Washington Ends Dallas’ Perfect Start
The Washington Capitals handed the Dallas Stars their first loss of the season with a three-goal second period. Tom Wilson netted his third goal in as many games, with Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh adding tallies to help Washington secure its second win of the season.
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for the Capitals, while Colin Blackwell and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars, who dropped to 4-1-0. Dallas went 0-for-4 on the power play, continuing their struggles with the man advantage (1-for-17 this season).
Lightning 4, Golden Knights 3
Kucherov’s Late Heroics Lift Tampa Bay Over Vegas
Nikita Kucherov scored his second goal of the game with 55 seconds left to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Janis Moser added a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves to help the Lightning improve to 3-0-0.
Vegas got goals from Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Ivan Barbashev, while Adin Hill made 21 saves in the loss.
Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2
Chicago Wins Home Opener
The Chicago Blackhawks won their home opener, defeating the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno, and Jason Dickinson all scored, with rookie sensation Connor Bedard contributing two assists. Chicago’s Petr Mrazek stopped 20 shots for his second win in three games.
For the winless Sharks (0-2-2), Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund found the net, while Mikael Granlund and William Eklund each tallied two assists.
Oilers 4, Predators 2
McDavid Scores First of Season, Kulak Nets Two
Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season, and Brett Kulak added two goals as the Edmonton Oilers earned a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for Edmonton, which has won two straight after dropping its first three games.
Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Nashville, who has now lost four straight games to start the season.
Rangers 5, Red Wings 2
Panarin’s Hat Trick Leads New York
Artemi Panarin continued his electric start to the season, recording a hat trick as the New York Rangers cruised to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Panarin scored twice in the first period and added a power-play goal in the second for his eighth career hat trick. Vincent Trocheck assisted on all of Panarin’s goals, while Adam Fox chipped in three assists.
The Rangers are now 3-0-1 to start the season, while Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit.
Devils 3, Senators 1
New Jersey Hands Ottawa Its First Loss
Erik Haula and Nathan Bastian scored their first goals of the season as the New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1. Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves for New Jersey, allowing only Brady Tkachuk’s power-play goal with 65 seconds left.
The Devils are now 5-1-0, making them the first NHL team to reach five wins this season.
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Canucks 3, Panthers 2 (OT)
Miller’s OT Winner Secures Vancouver’s First Win
J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime, lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers for their first victory of the season. Quinn Hughes set up Miller’s winner and added a goal and assist of his own. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 26 of 28 shots in the win.
The Panthers, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped, got goals from Jesper Boqvist and Anton Lundell.
Blues 1, Islanders 0 (OT)
Hofer’s Shutout, Neighbours’ OT Goal Lead St. Louis
Joel Hofer made 34 saves and Jake Neighbours scored the overtime winner as the St. Louis Blues defeated the New York Islanders 1-0. Hofer’s strong outing marked his second career shutout, while Neighbours scored just over two minutes into the extra session.
Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 shots in the loss.
Kings 4, Canadiens 1
Los Angeles Snaps Skid in Montreal
The Los Angeles Kings snapped a three-game winless streak with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Laferriere scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period, and David Rittich made 26 saves. Los Angeles also got goals from Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund, and Adrian Kempe.
Montreal’s Justin Barron scored, while defenseman Mike Matheson left the game with an upper-body injury before the third period.
Blue Jackets 6, Sabres 4
Columbus Outlasts Buffalo in High-Scoring Affair
Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each recorded a goal and assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets topped the Buffalo Sabres 6-4. Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese, and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, which jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period.
Buffalo’s Jiri Kulich notched his first NHL goal, while Ryan McLeod, Owen Power, and J.J. Peterka also scored. Sabres goalie Devon Levi made 19 saves but Buffalo slipped to 1-4-1.
Post-Game Reactions and Key Takeaways
Tom Wilson on Washington’s Win Over Dallas
“We knew they were a tough team, but we just had to focus on our game, and we were able to turn it around in that second period.”
Nikita Kucherov on His Late Game-Winner
“Big win for us. We’ve got a good thing going, and to get that one at the end was a great feeling.”
Artemi Panarin on His Hat Trick Performance
“It feels good to help the team with some goals, but it’s all about the wins and we’re playing great as a group right now.”
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Looking Ahead
Artemi Panarin and the red-hot New York Rangers will aim to keep their momentum going against the Seattle Kraken.
The Washington Capitals will look to build on their two-game winning streak when they face the New York Rangers next.
Vegas Golden Knights will seek to bounce back as they continue their road trip.
