NHL roundup: Ovechkin all-time PP goal leader, Devils’ Hughes slips up Oilers, and Goodrow’s Rangers revenge
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL rang in the New Year with three of their seven regularly scheduled games postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
That didn’t prevent the remaining contests from being some of the more exciting things to watch, outside of the giant ball dropping in Times Square. Jack Hughes handed the Oilers another loss, while Alex Ovechkin finally claimed a goal scoring record for himself.
Plus Barclay Goodrow made a triumphant return and helped beat his former team the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a revenge came for not only him but the Rangers as well after losing to Tampa in 2019 by a score of 9-3.
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Devils 6, Oilers 5 (OT)
Jack Hughes scored with 2:05 left in overtime Friday for the New Jersey Devils, who edged the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in a wild back-and-forth affair in Newark, N.J.
Hughes, who also scored the Devils’ first goal 1:38 into the first period, fired a shot that Mike Smith partially squeezed but could not entirely stop as the puck trickled behind him.
“I kind of shot it through the screen, through [Connor McDavid’s] legs, and once I got around him, I saw the puck trickled in,” Hughes said via NHL.com. “We were pretty pumped up.”
Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, Janne Kuokkanen and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for the Devils, who held a quartet of one-goal leads in regulation. However, Edmonton netted the tying and go-ahead goals in a 72-second span in the third period before Sharangovich forced overtime in the final minute. New Jersey’s Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.
Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto scored twice apiece for the Oilers, who have lost two straight. Devin Shore had a goal and Smith recorded 35 saves.
Capitals 3, Red Wings 1
Alex Ovechkin scored the go-ahead goal with 2:51 remaining and added an empty-netter in the final minute as Washington won at Detroit.
Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, while Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves. Washington has won three of its past four games.
With Robby Fabbri in the penalty box for interference, Ovechkin ripped a shot from the right point that snuck through Greiss’ pads with 2:51 remaining. Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom picked up the assist as Ovechkin became the all-time leader in power play goals with 275.
“It’s a great moment for me, for the team, for the fans and for the game as well,” Ovechkin said about his history making goal. “Now it’s over and we can move on.”
Pius Suter scored for Detroit, and Thomas Greiss stopped 24 shots. The Red Wings fell for the fifth time in seven games.
Golden Knights 3, Ducks 1
Nicolas Roy established a career high with his seventh goal of the season and Laurent Brossoit made 15 saves as Vegas cruised to a victory over Anaheim in Las Vegas.
Adam Brooks and Mattias Janmark also scored goals for Vegas, which won for the seventh time in eight games. The Golden Knights finished with a 45-16 edge in shots on goal, including 35-10 over the first two periods while building a 3-0 lead.
Ryan Getzlaf scored and John Gibson finished with 42 saves for Anaheim, including a penalty-shot stop of Janmark in the second period. The Ducks lost in regulation for just the second time in 12 games (6-2-4).
“I don’t think we played with any energy or passion to start the game,” said Getzlaf. “We came into a building that’s pretty electric and their team likes to play here. We didn’t accomplish a lot in that first period and throughout most of the game.”
Rangers 4, Lightning 3 (SO)
Mika Zibanejad fired in the only goal in the shootout as visiting New York beat Tampa Bay. In the shootout’s bottom of the third round, Zibanejad — who left the game briefly after being hit in the head with a puck — skated in slightly from the left and sent a forehander to beat Brian Elliott glove-side for the game-winning goal.
Barclay Goodrow scored twice, including a short-handed tally, and Alexis Lafreniere added a goal for the Rangers, who broke a two-game losing streak. The Lightning’s seven-game home winning streak was also broken.
“I had a tough time napping today, I was pretty excited,” Goodrow said via NHL.com. “But when the puck drops you are able to put all the other things aside and just focus on the game. I think you could see by my reactions after the goals I was pretty excited. It was a great game and I’m happy for the effort the guys put out tonight.
Steven Stamkos tallied on the power play and had an assist, Ross Colton scored and Corey Perry found the net with an extra skater on the ice in the game’s final two minutes for Tampa Bay. Ondrej Palat recorded two helpers.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article