Lightning: D’Astous sparks Tampa Bay as comeback wins highlight busy night

The Tampa Bay Lightning opened their home portion of the schedule on a positive note Saturday night, downing the Washington Capitals 3-1 on a busy NHL slate filled with comebacks and milestones across the league.

D’Astous opens the scoring as Vasilevskiy hits 600 games

Charle-Édouard D’Astous struck just minutes into the first period, wiring a wrist shot from the slot after a setup from Brandon Hagel to put Tampa Bay in front. Conor Geekie doubled the lead before the first intermission, giving the Lightning early control.

Jake Guentzel sealed the win with a late empty-netter. In goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 19 shots and was beaten only by Justin Sourdif, earning the victory in his 600th regular-season appearance.

Sabres rally at home, Chabot delivers in debut as captain

In Buffalo, the Sabres stormed back from two separate deficits to edge the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in their home opener. Jiri Kulich scored the game-winner inside the final seven minutes of regulation, his first goal in nearly a year after missing 70 games last season due to blood-clot issues.

Rasmus Dahlin had tied the game earlier in the third period, with Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson also finding the back of the net. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 12 saves. Chicago got goals from Oliver Moore, Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi, but squandered a 2-0 first-period lead and a 3-2 edge early in the third. The Blackhawks were without top defenceman Bowen Byram for family reasons; he had spent the previous two seasons in Buffalo before being traded in June. Spencer Knight stopped 24 shots in defeat, Chicago’s third straight road loss after setbacks in Las Vegas and Utah.

In Ottawa, the Senators handed the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 loss. Stephen Halliday scored the decisive goal in the third period, while new captain Thomas Chabot made an immediate impact with a goal and an assist. Michael Amadio also scored, and Claude Giroux chipped in two helpers.

Auston Matthews replied for Toronto early in the second period, deflecting a point shot, and Kirill Marchenko—acquired in a major trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on the eve of the season—added a power-play marker. The Leafs goaltender made 26 saves in the loss. Ottawa finished the night without Jake Sanderson after the defenceman appeared to aggravate a lingering injury in the first period.

Canes finally break through as Utah, Oilers and Islanders roll

The defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes picked up their first win of the season in their third outing, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime. Shayne Gostisbehere ended it at 2:51 of the extra frame with a one-timer off a feed from Jackson Blake. Sebastian Aho scored twice, including a goal just 10 seconds into the game after a setup from behind the net by William Carrier and another on the power play early in the third to tie it. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov scored for Philadelphia, which has opened a season with three straight losses for the first time since 2014-15. Carolina visits Montreal on Tuesday for the Canadiens’ home opener.

Out West, the Utah Mammoth used three power-play goals to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 and secure a second straight win to start the year. Nick Schmaltz scored twice, with Mikhail Sergachev and Dylan Guenther also capitalizing on the man advantage. Sergachev added an assist, while Guenther and Logan Cooley each recorded two helpers. Sebastian Cossa stopped 15 shots in his first start for Utah. Kent Johnson scored the lone Columbus goal, Jet Greaves made 21 saves, and Matthew Knies picked up an assist to give him four points through his first two games with the Blue Jackets. Clayton Keller contributed two assists to reach 600 career NHL points and now has 17 points in 17 games against Columbus.

In Seattle, Connor McDavid recorded a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Kraken 3-1, pushing his season total to nine points through three games, including a late empty-netter. Owen Michaels and Leon Draisaitl supplied the other Edmonton goals. Devon Levi stopped 19 shots, beaten only by Bobby McMann, while Philipp Grubauer turned aside 22 shots for Seattle. The Oilers continue their road trip Wednesday in Anaheim.

The New York Islanders routed the New Jersey Devils 6-0, powered by 20-year-old Viktor Eklund’s first NHL goal and an assist. Brayden Schenn, Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom each had a goal and a helper, with Ondrej Palat and Bo Horvat rounding out the scoring. Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves for his 30th career shutout, and rookie defenceman Matthew Schaefer collected two assists. Nico Daws stopped 26 of 32 shots for the Devils.

In Nashville, Nils Hoglander scored his first goal as a Predator on a first-period power play, helping lift his new team to a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars after six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Steven Stamkos added another power-play tally, and Juuse Saros turned away 29 shots for his first win of the campaign. Miro Heiskanen scored Dallas’s only goal, while Casey DeSmith made 24 saves.

Kirill Kaprizov’s two-goal outing led the Minnesota Wild to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Quinn Hughes posted a goal and an assist, and Jared Spurgeon, now paired with Hughes in Brock Faber’s absence, also scored. Jesper Wallstedt earned his second win in three nights with 26 saves. Tanner Jeannot scored Boston’s lone marker, and Michael DiPietro finished with 26 saves.

Rounding out the night, the Colorado Avalanche dominated the St. Louis Blues 6-1. Martin Necas scored his first two goals of the season and added an assist, while Cale Makar, Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen and Nicolas Roy also scored. Nathan MacKinnon paced the attack with three assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves for his second win in as many starts. Dalibor Dvorsky broke the shutout bid with a third-period goal for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington allowed six goals on 36 shots.