UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders are back in a dead heat for first place in the NHL’s East Division.
Justin Schultz had a goal and two assists as the Capitals knocked off the Sabres, 4-3, putting Washington back into a first-place tie. Brenden Dillon opened the scoring 2:39 into the first and set up Alex Ovechkin’s 727th career goal nine minutes later. Justin Schultz and Jakub Vrana also scored as the Caps ended a two-game losing streak.
Vitek Vanecek stopped 30 shots in his 16th win, tops among all league rookies.
The Islanders fell to 4-1 on their six-game homestand with a 4-1 setback against the Rangers.
Neither team scored until Alexis Lafrienere and Colin Blackwell tallied about four minutes apart in the second period. Alexander Georgiev stopped 31 shots to help the Rangers win for the fifth time in seven games.
Andy Greene scored his first goal of the season for the Isles, who fell to 17-2-2 at Nassau Coliseum.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Jonas Johansson made 28 saves in his first career shutout and Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winner as the Avalanche blanked the Ducks, 2-0. Mikko Rantanen notched his seventh goal in as many games with an empty-netter as Colorado rebounded from Wednesday’s 8-3 loss to the Wild. Nathan MacKinnon extended his points streak to eight games with an assist on Rantanen’s late goal, helping the Avs secure a point for the 16th time in 17 games.
— The Wild followed their blowout win over Colorado with a 9-1 loss at St. Louis as Ryan O’Reilly had three goals and an assist. Jaden Schwartz scored twice and St. Louis posted a season high for goals in a game. Jordan Binnington made 23 saves as the Blues won its second straight game.
— Reilly Smith scored twice to lead the Golden Knights to a 7-4 win over the Coyotes. Jonathan Marchessault, William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, Chandler Stephenson, and Max Pacioretty also scored for Vegas, while Robin Lehner made 22 saves. After opening a 5-0 lead early in the second period, the Knights survived a third-period rally and improved to 12-5-0 all-time against Arizona.
— Bryan Rust scored twice and Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists in leading the streaking Penguins to a 6-4 victory over the Devils. Jared McCann, Brian Dumoulin and Colton Sceviour also scored as the banged-up Pens won their second game in as many nights to get within two points of the East Division lead. Casey DeSmith made 25 saves in snapping a personal two-game losing streak.
— The Sharks were 5-2 winners over the Kings as Martin Jones made 32 saves and Patrick Marleau scored his 566th career goal. Jones beat the Kings for the sixth time this season and has a .933 save percentage in seven games against his former team. Kevin Labanc, Rudolfs Balcers and Dylan Gambrell also scored, and Brent Burns had three assists to give San Jose its fifth win in six games.
