WASHINGTON -- Patric Hornqvist scored a power-play goal and assisted on another in his season debut to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Wednesday night in their first meeting since the playoffs.
Hornqvist assisted on a goal by Kris Letang, the defenseman's first since Feb. 4 after missing the end of last season and playoffs because of neck surgery. Hornqvist, who scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal last spring despite a broken finger on his right hand, was playing for the first time since offseason surgery to repair it.
Conor Sheary scored the Penguins' third goal as they went 3 for 6 on the power play. The Capitals' six minor penalties were a season high and contributed to their first regulation loss.
Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading eighth goal of the season in the Capitals' fourth game. Christian Djoos assisted on Ovechkin's goal and scored in his NHL debut to become the third defenseman in franchise history to score in his debut after Steve Poapst and Hall of Famer Scott Stevens.
Matt Murray stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced to pick up the victory. Braden Holtby made 33 saves for Washington (see full recap).
Wood, Zacha help Devils hand Maple Leafs 1st loss
TORONTO -- Brian Gibbons had a rare 3-on-5 goal, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha each scored twice and the unbeaten New Jersey Devils beat Toronto 6-3 on Wednesday night to end the Maple Leafs' perfect start.
Blake Coleman also scored, and Cory Schneider made 47 saves to help New Jersey open 3-0-0 for the first time since 2014-15.
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Tied 2-2 after 20 minutes, New Jersey scored twice in the second period despite being outshot 17-12.
A key moment came late in the period with the Devils taking two minors on one play. Rather than Toronto taking advantage, New Jersey killed off the penalties and scored short-handed to make it 4-2.
Jake Gardiner was unable to keep the puck in at the New Jersey blue line and two Devils broke in. William Nylander's backcheck swept the puck off Adam Henrique's stick, and the puck went off goalie Frederik Andersen to Gibbons in front.
Auston Matthews, with his third of the season, cut it to 5-3 with 6:26 remaining and the Maple Leafs on a two-man advantage. James van Riemsdyk and Dominic Moore also scored for Toronto. The Maple Leafs dropped to 3-1-0 (see full recap).
Andrighetto lifts Avalanche over Bruins
DENVER -- Sven Andrighetto scored twice, the second an empty-netter with 1:34 remaining, and Alexander Kerfoot had his first NHL goal in helping the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in their home opener Wednesday night.
It was the second meeting between the two teams in three nights. The Avalanche beat the Bruins 4-0 in Boston on Monday night.
Colorado broke things open in the second period, with Nail Yakupov, Andrighetto and Matt Duchene all beating goaltender Tuukka Rask, who was replaced by Anton Khudobin for the third period.
Trailing 4-1 midway through the third, the Bruins made things interesting with goals from Tim Schaller and Torey Krug in a 1:27 span. Andrighetto and Tyson Jost responded with empty-net goals.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 20 shots to help the Avalanche start on the right foot at the Pepsi Center. The team went a dismal 13-26-2 at home a season ago when they finished with an NHL-worst 48 points (see full recap).