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LAS VEGAS (AP) — With Paul Kotter scoring twice, the Vegas Golden Knights finally got off to a good start, easily beating the Washington Capitals 6-2 on Saturday night to end their three-game losing streak.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has been unable to play due to a lower body injury and is listed as Day To Day by the Capitals. He leads the team with 30 goals and 52 points.
Even with Ovechkin on the ice, the Capitals may have struggled against the Knights, who have lost four of their last five games. They went 3-4 in the homestand, and he didn’t return to T-Mobile Arena until Super Bowl Sunday.
For the Knights, Nicholas Roy had a goal and two assists, Alec Martinez had a goal and an assist, Alex Pietrangelo and Chandler Stevenson each had two assists. Goalkeeper Logan Thompson saved his 20 shots to extend his career record to 3-0 against Washington.
Knights coach Bruce Cassidy laments Vegas’ slow start during the lull. Opponents had scored opening goals in five straight games before the Capitals came to town.
Vegas opened fire with two goals in the first 7:36. Martinez filled in the rebound when Stevenson’s shot hit the left post, and Roy scored a pass from Jonathan Marcheseau to complete a 2–1 breakaway.
The Knights added three goals (Michael Amadio, Byron Froese and Cotter) in the second period to win 5–0. It was the first goal of the season for Froese, who has spent most of the season playing for his affiliate in the Knights’ American Hockey League at Henderson.
Froese’s goal with 7:55 remaining was also chased by Capitals goaltender Darcy Kemper, who gave up four goals on 18 shots. His replacement, Charlie Lindgren, conceded the goal after just 1 minute and 34 seconds.
The Capitals eventually scored with 1:40 left when Eric Gustafsson gave the goal to TJ Osier.
Both teams traded goals in the third period, with Cotter scoring for the Knights and Marcus Johansson scoring for the Capitals.
next
Capitals: Tuesday night in Colorado.
Golden Knights: Sunday night in Arizona.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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