Capitals 3, Bruins 2

Tom Wilson got his first two goals of the season, and then joked about the one that got away.

“I think the third would have been the best,” he said, breaking into a smile after Washington continued its recent success against Boston with a victory on Saturday night.

“I think he got a skate blade on it or something,” he said about a clean look in the third.

Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals, who have won their last 10 meetings against the Bruins, including two in overtime. Braden Holtby made 31 saves while improving to 12-2 against Boston for his career.

“We weren’t happy how we played a couple of games,” Ovechkin said. “Sometimes you’re just cruising around. I think today our line played very well.”

David Pastrnak scored both goals for the Bruins, who had collected at least a point in their last six games, going 3-0-3. Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots, falling to 1-10-5 in his career against Washington.

The Bruins fell behind 2-0 in the opening period.

“I think we have a young — and I’m not blaming it on young guys — we have a young, inexperienced group,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think some of these games they wait to see what happens instead of initiating. They need to have a better understanding of; be on time, get going right away.”

Pastrnak’s power-play goal out of a scramble cut Washington’s lead to 3-2 with 2:32 to play, but Holtby made a couple of stops in the closing minute after the Bruins pulled Rask for an extra skater.

“We had a bad start and you can’t have that,” Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. “They made us pay in the first period.”

Wilson got the Caps on the board when he collected the puck near the side of the net after Lars Eller’s backhander caromed to him off the skate of a Boston defenseman, and the winger slipped a quick wrist shot inside the post.

Less than a minute after Rask made a glove stop on Ovechkin on a clean breakaway, the star forward one-timed Evgeny Kuznetsov’s cross-ice pass into the net with a blistering shot from the left circle.

Boston closed to 2-1 when Pastrnak collected Bergeron’s feed in the slot, shifted and tucked a shot behind Holtby 3:37 into the second, but Washington regained its two-goal edge late in the period.

Wilson, positioned near the top of the right circle, tipped Brooks Orpik’s shot from the point, with the puck sailing over the head of Rask just under the crossbar.

Wilson nearly got a third goal while the Capitals were short-handed early in the third, but Rask made a pad save when Wilson cut in alone. Eller had a breakaway late on the same Boston power play that drew a spattering of boos from the TD Garden crowd for the Bruins’ sloppy play.

Rangers 5, Panthers 4 (OT)

Kevin Shattenkirk scored twice, including the winner in overtime, to lift New York over Florida.

Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden also scored for the Rangers, who won their third straight. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots.

Colton Sceviour scored two goals for the Panthers. Vincent Trocheck and Keith Yandle also scored, and Roberto Luongo made 39 saves in his first game since he injured a hand against Pittsburgh on Oct. 20.

Florida dropped its fourth consecutive game.

Shattenkirk fired a shot from the right side that beat Luongo 1:08 into overtime.

Nash put the Rangers ahead 4-3 with a power-play goal with 8:35 left in the third. Nash deflected a shot from Ryan McDonagh past Luongo from in front of the crease.

But Trocheck tied it again with a shot from the right circle with 1:56 to go.

The Rangers and Panthers alternated goals for much of the night.

Sceviour gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 3:11 of the second when he tipped in a pass from Michael Haley over Lundqvist’s shoulder. But the Rangers tied it on Holden’s one-timer at 7:54 of the second for his first goal of the season.

Sceviour, who missed the previous five games with an upper-body injury, put Florida back in front when he poked a loose puck between Lundqvist’s pads with 5:46 left in the second.

Shattenkirk responded for New York, sending a wrist shot from the point past Luongo with 1:02 left in the second.

Grabner gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 5:18 of the third when he beat Luongo from in front. The Panthers tied it at 3 on Yandle’s goal at 8:45 when his shot from the point got by Lundqvist.

Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 4 (SO)

Steven Stamkos had a power-play goal in regulation and the lone goal during the shootout, helping Tampa Bay beat Columbus.

Stamkos is 9 for 38 in the shootout over his career.

Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves.

Columbus got goals from Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Markus Hannikainen and Brandon Dubinsky, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots.

Hannikainen, on a wraparound, and Dubinsky scored 1:59 apart midway through the third to tie it at 4. It was Dubinsky’s first goal in 17 games dating to last season.

Stamkos put Tampa Bay ahead 3-2 from the low left circle after taking a pass from Kucherov at 6:20 of the second. Both Lightning stars have a point in 13 of 15 games.

Gourde made it 4-2 late in the second, extending his goal streak to three consecutive games.

Both Vasilevskiy (2.42 goals-against average) and Bobrovsky (2.07 GAA) allowed two goals by the midpoint of an uptempo first period.

Jones (2:30), Point (2:54) and Kucherov (3:32), who got his 14th goal from the low right circle off a nifty pass through the slot by Mikhail Sergachev, each scored early in the game.

Sergachev, a 19-year-old rookie defenseman acquired from Montreal for forward Jonathan Drouin in June, has eight assists and 12 points in 15 games.

Werenski tied it at 2 with 9:05 left in the first. Tampa Bay outshot Columbus 17-15 in the period.

Blue Jackets left wing Matt Calvert lost his helmet and was shaken up on a center-ice check by Dan Girardi in the third.

Avalanche 5, Flyers 4 (SO)

Mikko Rantanen scored the winner in the shootout, and Colorado kicked off a lengthy road trip with a victory over Philadelphia.

In the third round, Ranatanen made a nifty move and fired a shot past the sprawled-out Michal Neuvirth to give the Avalanche their third straight victory.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 33 shots, three on point-blank shots in overtime, two nights after making 57 saves in a victory against Carolina.

The Flyers scored twice and the Avalanche once in a frantic 2:04 stretch early in the third period that ended with Philadelphia tying it at 4 on Dale Weise’s goal at 6:37.

Nail Yakupov, who had taken two penalties, had put Colorado ahead a minute earlier. The Flyers’ Jakub Voracek scored 1:04 before that.

Valtteri Flippula and Claude Giroux also had goals for Philadelphia, which was playing for the third time in four nights. Neuvirth made 23 saves.

Blake Comeau scored a short-handed goal and Rantanen was credited with a power-play goal within 43 seconds of each other in the second period for Colorado.

The Avalanche fell behind 2-1 in the second period while hitting the post three times before trying a new tactic: firing shots off Flyers players.

Comeau’s wrist shot deflected off Ivan Provorov’s skate and past Neuvirh to tie it at 15:20. Then Rantanen got a goal after a centering pass bounced off Robert Hagg.

Matt Duchene scored a power-play goal with 1.6 seconds left in the first period for the Avalanche.

Beginning a 10-game trip that will take them to Sweden for two games, the Avalanche dressed only 11 forwards.

Rocco Grimaldi and Matt Nieto were sidelined because of illness. Gabriel Bourque returned after a two-game absence and replaced Nieto’s spot on the third line. Nail Yakupov filled in for Grimaldi on the second line, and multiple forwards skated extra shifts on the fourth line.

Shayne Gostisbehere, who entered the night tied for the most points by an NHL defensemen, returned from a three-game injury absence and earned his 14th point on Gioux’s goal. His turnover also led to Yakupov’s goal.

Golden Knights 5, Senators 4

Maxime Lagace made 24 saves for his first NHL victory and Vegas had three power-play goals in a win over Ottawa.

Erik Haula had two goals and an assist, Alex Tuch, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault also scored, and Marchessault added two assists. Expansion Vegas snapped a three game-losing streak to improve to 9-4-0.

The 24-year-old Legace lost his first three games with the Golden Knights. He was 2-2-0 in four games this season for the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League.

Mark Stone, Alex Burrows, Ryan Dzingel and Erik Karlsson scored for Ottawa, and Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots. The Senators will leave Monday for Sweden for two games against the Colorado Avalanche.

Marchessault gave Vegas a 3-2 lead on a power player with 7:21 left in the second.

William Karlsson scored on a wraparound to make it 4-2 at 3:29 of the third, and Haula had a power-play goal at 6:47. Dzingel’s fifth of the season for Ottawa made it 5-3 at 7:52, and Erik Karlsson scored his first of the season in the final minute of play.

Canadiens 5, Jets 4 (OT)

Max Pacioretty scored a power-play goal at 3:07 of overtime to give Montreal a victory over Winnipeg.

Jets defenseman Tyler Myers cross-checked Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk at 1:54 to give the Habs the man advantage.

Some mishandling of the puck by the Jets behind the net led to Pacioretty’s fifth of the season from in close on goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Pacioretty also had two assists.

The teams were tied 2-2 heading into the third period when Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler scored power-play goals 2:14 apart to give the Jets a 4-2 lead at 6:39.

But the high-shooting Canadiens weren’t done. Tomas Plekanec squeezed the gap at 8:17 and then Jeff Petry tied it at 15:16.

The Canadiens peppered Hellebuyck with 50 shots. He made 45 saves as Winnipeg’s winning streak ended at three games. He still hasn’t lost in regulation (7-0-2).

Andrew Shaw scored twice on the power play for the Canadiens.

Al Montoya started in goal for injured Carey Price and stopped 19 shots.

Patrik Laine and Andrew Copp also scored for the Jets.

Blues 6, Maple Leafs 4

Alex Pietrangelo scored twice, Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn each had three assists, and St. Louis beat Toronto.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Joel Edmundson, Magnus Paajarvi and Vladimir Sobotka also scored for the Blues, who improved to 6-1 at home. Jake Allen had 26 saves.

Edmundson and Pietrangelo gave St. Louis a league-best 16 goals from defensemen this season. Pietrangelo’s 15 points leads all NHL defensemen.

The Blues have earned points in six of their last seven home games against Toronto (5-1-1).

Tyler Bozak scored twice, Andreas Borgman had a goal and an assist and Connor Brown also scored for the Maple Leafs, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.

The Blues, who won their third straight against Toronto, scored three times in the second period to erase a 1-0 deficit.

Tarasenko tied it at 2:33, chipping a Schwartz rebound into the net to score for the sixth straight game against Toronto. The goal ended the Blues’ season-long scoring drought of 83:38.

Edmundson gave the Blues a 2-1 lead after a Schenn shot went off of Andersen’s pad right onto his tape at 7:10.

Pietrangelo showed off his hands while making it 3-1 at 10:28, skating past the outstretched left pad of Andersen and tucking the puck into the net with a quick backhand-forehand combination.

Borgman put the Maple Leafs up midway through the first period. It was just the fifth first-period goal allowed by St. Louis in 15 games.

Paajarvi, Bozak and Sobotka scored in a 62-second span early in the third period. Paul Statsny’s forecheck caused a turnover behind the Toronto net that directly led to Sobotka’s tally.

Pietrangelo scored an unassisted power-play goal at 7:52 to make it 6-2.

Blackhawks 2, Wild 0

Artem Anisimov scored a power-play goal with 5:42 left in the third period, and Chicago beat Minnesota.

Corey Crawford made 24 saves for his second straight shutout as the Blackhawks won their second straight after three straight losses.

Devan Dubnyk stopped 33 shots for Minnesota, which finished a season-long six-game homestand 3-3-0.

With Minnesota’s Luke Kunin serving a double-minor for high-sticking, Duncan Keith’s shot from just inside the blue line was deflected in front by Anisimov just past the halfway point of the man advantage.

Anisimov has scored in four straight games, including two power-play goals.

Alex DeBrincat added an empty-net goal for the second straight game.

Crawford, who entered the night with a 1.92 goals-against average (fourth-best in the league) and .941 save percentage (third-best), made his best stop early in the third when he got his glove up to thwart a breakaway by Eric Staal. He stacked the pads to stop Jared Spurgeon a short time later on another breakaway.

Crawford also came out to stop Mikko Koivu with the left pad, seconds before Jan Rutta cleared a loose puck out of the Chicago crease.

His strong play has been needed. After hitting double digits on opening night, the Blackhawks have scored 33 goals in 13 games, yet have gone 6-5-2.

Both teams missed by inches in the first period.

Chicago’s Richard Panik hit the crossbar 13 minutes in, and a redirect from Nino Niederreiter during a late Wild power play bounced off the post, off the far leg of Crawford as he struggled to get back into position and out of harm’s way as the goal horn incorrectly sounded.

DeBrincat hit the post on a 2-on-1 with Panik early in the second.

Stars 5, Sabres 1

Tyler Seguin scored his fifth power-play goal of the season in Dallas’ four-goal first period, and the Stars beat Buffalo.

Seguin’s goal on a slap shot from the left faceoff circle made it 4-0 just 12:51 into the game.

Remi Elie, Radek Faksa and Stephen Johns also scored in the first, and Antoine Roussel added a second-period goal. Johns’ goal chased Buffalo goaltender Robin Lehner from the game at 10:27 of the first.

Lehner made only four saves before Chad Johnson came in and stopped 13 shots.

Kari Lehtonen had 27 saves to win his second straight start. Ryan O’Reilly broke up Lehtonen’s shutout bid by winning a faceoff and sending a shot between the goalie’s legs late in the second.

John Klingberg had a season-high three assists.

Elie opened the scoring at 3:09 of the first. Roussel intercepted a clearing pass on the left-wing boards and sent a slap shot at Lehner. Elie took the rebound in front for a short wrist shot into the net.

Faksa scored at 7:07. Lehner deflected Gemel Smith’s cross-ice pass in front of the net and on to Faksa’s stick for a tip-in.

Smith also assisted on Johns’ goal, dropping a pass back into the slot for the defenseman. Johns put a wrist shot past Lehner.