WASHINGTON (AP) — David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists, captain Patrice Bergeron scored and the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Pastrnak assisted on Bergeron’s goal on a power play with the initial shot that turned into a juicy rebound and set up Taylor Hall with a perfect pass into the middle of the ice to put Boston up 3-0. Washington scored twice before Pastrnak took the shot that turned into David Krejci’s sealing goal with 3:43 left.
Krejci also had two assists in his return to the NHL after playing last season in his native Czech Republic and participating in the Olympics.
Jim Montgomery won his Bruins coaching debut, his first game behind the bench as an NHL head coach since Dec. 7, 2019, with the Dallas Stars, who fired him for unprofessional conduct. He sought and received help for alcohol abuse, spent time as an assistant in St. Louis and is getting another chance with Boston.
Linus Ullmark made 33 saves for Boston. Hampus Lindholm scored an empty-netter with 1:05 left.
Anthony Mantha and Conor Sheary scored for Washington. Darcy Kuemper struggled a bit in his Capitals debut less than three months since backstopping Colorado to the Stanley Cup. He allowed four goals on 29 shots.
HURRICANES 4, BLUE JACKETS 1
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Martin Necas had a goal and two assists and Carolina beat Columbus in their opener.
Seth Jarvis, Brady Skjei and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves .
Patrick Laine scored for Columbus goal. Columbus turned to Daniil Tarasov as the surprise opening-night starter because top netminder Elvis Merzilikins was ill. Tarasov, who appeared in his fifth NHL game, made 39 saves.
CANADIENS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3
MONTREAL (AP) — Josh Anderson scored with 19 seconds left to lift Montreal past Toronto in the opener for both teams.
Cole Caufield scored twice and Sean Monahan had his first goal for the Canadiens after coming over in an offseason deal with Calgary. Jake Allen stopped Alexander Kerfoota onb a penalty shot and finished with 29 saves.
Micheal Bunting, Dennis Malgin and William Nylander scored for Toronto, and Toronto, Matt Murray made 19 saves.
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