WASHINGTON (AP) — Sonny Milano recorded his first hat trick in the NHL, Alex Ovechkin scored again, and the Washington Capitals ended the Carolina Hurricanes' winning streak at five with a shootout victory Friday night that could play a pivotal role in their playoff pursuit.
Ovechkin’s goal was the 846th of his NHL career, while Milano scored one of his three juggling the puck off his stick and batting it into the net in front of a fired-up crowd in the nation’s capital.
Fans chanted “Ovi! Ovi!” after he scored for the sixth time in four games to reach 24 this season, a run that has upped his chances of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record, and finally threw hats on to the ice after the announcement of Milano’s third goal of the back-and-forth game.
John Carlson scored early in the third period to jump-start the rally, Connor McMichael scored minutes later and Dylan Strome had the only goal in a five-round shootout.
It all added up to a fourth win in five games for the Capitals, who moved one point back of Detroit for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and two behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve played one fewer game than either of those teams, and their post-season hopes are very much alive.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Friday:
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STARS 4 PENGUINS 2
DALLAS (AP) — Jamie Benn scored twice in a 1:17 span to extend his goal streak to a season-best three games, and Dallas beat Pittsburgh.
The Dallas captain is up to 15 goals on the season, with six in the past eight games, as the Stars finished 3-2 on a five-game homestand, the last of three that were their longest of the season.
Michael Bunting scored on Pittsburgh’s third shot, but Jake Oettinger stopped the next 12 before Rickard Rakell’s goal midway through the third period for the final margin.
Oettinger had 20 saves, including a pad stop on a wide-open Rakell when the lead was 3-1 in the second period.
The Penguins — in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 — dropped to 2-10-2 in their past 14 road games.
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AVALANCHE 6 BLUE JACKETS 1
DENVER (AP) — Mikko Rantanen had two goals and an assist, Nathan MacKinnon extended his home points streak to 33 games with a late score, and Colorado routed Columbus.
Cale Makar, Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin added goals for the Avalanche, who won their eighth straight game as they surged to the top of the Central Division. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 23 shots for his 36th win of the season.
Trailing 1-0, the Avalanche scored six straight goals for their 24th comeback victory. They had 51 shots on goal.
MacKinnon scored on a breakaway with 6:01 remaining of the third to keep his home points streak going, and later had an assist. It’s the second-longest home points streak to open a season in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 40 in 1988-89.
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COYOTES 2 KRAKEN 1 (OT)
PHOENIX (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored on a breakaway at 4:12 of overtime to give Arizona a victory over Seattle, the Kraken’s seventh straight loss,
Guenther broke in alone at the blue line and put a wrist shot over former Arizona State goalie Joey Daccord’s glove.
Clayton Keller tied it for Arizona with 1:08 left in the regulation with his 29th goal. He tipped in a shot from Nick Bjugstad.
Karel Vejmelka made 26 saves for the Coyotes in the first of seven straight home games. They have split their last four games but have lost 19 of 25.
Kraken rookie Ryker Evans scored his first career goal to open the scoring at 7:40 of the third period, beating Vejmelka with a wrist shot from a severe angle in the left circle. He had seven assists in his previous 23 games.
The Associated Press
