NHL Roundup: Rangers take down Panthers; Alex Ovechkin nets goal 741; and Kings crush Leafs
The Daily Goal Horn
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The NHL had only three games scheduled on Monday with one unbeaten team in regulation looking to stay that way.
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers put up another wall in stopping a barrage of shots and the New York Rangers handed the Florida Panthers their first loss of the season.
Also, Alex Ovechkin continues his incredible start to the season by notching his 11th goal in 12 games. That ties him with Brett Hull for 4th All-Time. Plus the Kings crush the Leafs.
Let’s dive in.
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Rangers 4, Panthers 3
A furious last-minute comeback fell short for visiting Florida, which took its first regulation loss of the season as New York hung on for a win. Igor Shesterkin allowed two goals in the final 1:26 but made 42 saves for the Rangers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
“We took two points against a really good team – one of the best teams in the league right now,” Mika Zibanejad said after picking up two assists. “We’re happy about that.”
The Rangers were outshot 45-18 overall but carried a 4-0 lead into the third period thanks to a power-play goal by Chris Kreider and a short-handed goal by Adam Fox in the first period and four-on-four goals by K’Andre Miller and Ryan Strome 30 seconds apart in the second.
The Panthers, whose 10-0-1 start was the best 11-game start in the NHL since the Buffalo Sabres opened 10-0-1 in 2006-07, roared back in the third period, when Eetu Luostarinen scored 20 seconds after faceoff and Sam Reinhart and Patric Hornqvist scored in a 46-second span.
When it was over, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant was not pleased.
“No fun watching that,” Gallant said. “You win a game against an undefeated team and you don’t feel good about that win. I’ll take the 2 points but it’s not the way you’ve got to play hockey.”
Capitals 5, Sabres 3
Tom Wilson scored twice and Alex Ovechkin moved up the all-time goals list as the Washington Capitals earned a 5-3 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
Ovechkin scored his 741st career goal to tie Brett Hull for fourth most in NHL history. He added two assists for Washington, which was 0-2-1 in the previous three games. Ovechkin’s goal was his league-leading 11th of the season, and his second assist was the 600th of his career.
“I just take it day by day,” Ovechkin said. “You know it’s nice to be in that company. It’s pretty big numbers, so just move on. Obviously it’s nice to be tied, but I still have a couple games left.”
Washington’s Connor McMichael and John Carlson added goals while Evgeny Kuznetsov notched three assists. Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves.
Cody Eakin, Anders Bjork and Colin Miller scored and Dustin Tokarski made 25 saves for the Sabres, who are 0-4-1 in their past five games.
Kings 5, Maple Leafs 1
Phillip Danault had two goals and an assist and visiting Los Angeles defeated Toronto to extend its winning streak to five games.
Andreas Athanasiou added a goal and assist and Trevor Moore, a former Maple Leaf, and Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings. Alex Iafallo added two assists. Jonathan Quick made 33 saves for Los Angeles.
John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs, who had a five-game winning streak end. Jack Campbell, a former King, stopped 24 shots.
“We just weren’t able to sustain our game,” Tavares said. “They do a really good job in the neutral zone and don’t give us a whole lot, even just to get good efficient dumps where we can recover pucks. Giving up the lead and having to play from behind, we couldn’t seem to make enough plays and be consistent enough putting pressure on them.”
–Field Level Media