Montreal Canadiens 4-8 Washington Capitals
A 12-goal thriller occurred in Quebec, where the Washington Capitals topped the Montreal Canadiens 8-4. Alex Ovechkin netted his 905th NHL goal a minute into the contest, seconds into a power play, to give the Caps the perfect start.
Brendan Gallagher tied the game for the Habs with 4:13 left in the opening frame, before the second period saw the game come to life.
Ethen Frank gave the Caps a 3-1 lead with a pair of goals 1:38 apart. Joe Veleno halved the deficit a few minutes later. That would not last, though, as Jabuk Chychrun made it 4-2.
It truly was a back-and-forth game, as the second saw two more goals. After Nick Suzuki got the Canadiens' third goal of the night, Sonny Milano undid the hosts once more with a finish from close range.
Once more, Montreal made it a one-goal game five and a half minutes into the third through Michael Matheson. Unfortunately for them, that was the farthest they got.
Ovechkin stole the show after that, scoring twice more to complete his 33rd hat-trick, tying him for the fourth most in NHL history. Sonny Milano rounded out the scoring just before the end to give Washington a big win.
Now on three wins on the bounce, the Caps have jumped into the playoff spots. Their 10 regulation wins are the joint-most in the Eastern Conference alongside the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Chicago Blackhawks 2-3 Seattle Kraken
The Chicago Blackhawks gave away a two-goal cushion at home to the Seattle Kraken, ultimately losing 3-2 in what was a disappointment for the fans at the United Center.
After a first period with few chances, the hosts went in front 47 seconds after the intermission. Tyler Bertuzzi put his side in front after combining with his fellow forwards.
Teuvo Teravainen doubled Chicago's lead midway through the period, making the most of a man-advantage play. The Blackhawks, who started the season incredibly well, looked to be in control at this point.
But the Kraken would not give up. Tye Kartye got a goal back for them with a little less than 15 minutes left in the game. Then, Shane Wright tied things up by getting the last touch off a shot from just inside the blue line.
With 2:18 left in the game, Jaden Schwartz completed the comeback for the Kraken. On a power play due to Connor Bedard abusing an official, the second line forward found the back of the net to give his side the victory.
Seattle are fifth in the West with their latest win, just their seventh in regulation time. They jump ahead of the Blackhawks, who are now on the outside looking in.
Around the league
In other results on Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche, leaders in the West, defeated the New York Rangers 6-3, while the other New York franchise, the Islanders, thrashed the Red Wings 5-0 in Detroit.
Philadelphia, Columbus, and Tampa Bay all notched overtime wins.
