WASHINGTON (AP) — Evgeny Kuznetsov continued his dominance against the Vegas Golden Knights Craig Smith Jersey , scoring a goal and assisting on three more as part of a 5-2 Washington Capitals victory Wednesday night in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final.Kuznetsov assisted on two goals by Alex Ovechkin and one by Nicklas Backstrom and scored his own on the power play. The leading scorer in the Cup Final with eight points in five games, Kuznetsov has seven points through the defending champions’ first three games of the regular season.Coming off a 49-goal season and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Ovechkin has four goals in three games. The 610th and 611th goals of his career put him in sole possession of 17th on the NHL’s career list, passing Bobby Hull.Braden Holtby stopped 29 of 31 shots and bailed out his teammates during an especially sloppy second period. Holtby allowed goals to Cody Eakin in the second period and Reilly Smith in the third.Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who wanted to start this game instead of facing his former team in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, allowed four goals on 28 shots. His teammates hit the post a handful of times and went 0 for 3 on the power play and are 0 for 11 so far this season.The Golden Knights fell to 1-3-0 at the beginning of their second season. They didn’t lose their third game in their inaugural season until Halloween when they started 8-3-0.COYOTES 3, DUCKS 2, SOANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nick Cousins scored in the shootout, Antti Raanta made 23 saves and the Coyotes earned their first win of the season.Dylan Strome and Brad Richardson scored for Arizona (1-2), which dropped its first 11 games last season.The Coyotes got their first goal this season when Strome converted a power-play opportunity with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first. They were the last NHL team to score.Anaheim was trying for the first 4-0 start in franchise history. Ryan Kesler and Ben Street scored for the Ducks (3-0-1), and John Gibson made 37 saves.FLYERS 7, SENATORS 4OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jakub Voracek and Scott Laughton scored two goals apiece, and Philadelphia rebounded from an embarrassing loss to beat Ottawa.Sean Couturier, Robert Hagg and Claude Giroux also scored for the Flyers http://www.nashvillepredatorsteamshop.com/authentic-filip-forsberg-jersey , who were coming off an 8-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks in their home opener a night earlier. Calvin Pickard stopped 31 shots.Brady Tkachuk scored his first NHL goal and finished with two goals and an assist for Ottawa. Maxime Lajoie also had two goals and an assist for the Senators, who were playing the first of a five-game homestand.Craig Anderson made 38 saves, but the Flyers victimized him with four goals through two periods before they pulled away in the third. GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Clayton Keller had a superb start and finish to his rookie season with the Arizona Coyotes, becoming a finalist for the Calder Trophy. In between, he went through a long scoring drought.Keller’s goal for his sophomore season: More consistency.Already one of the NHL’s top young players, Keller is hoping to take the next step in his career by mirroring the preparation of players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Patrick Kane — with an assist from his coach, Rick Tocchet.“You try to watch guys like that and see how they create success,” Keller said. “Toc’s a good friend of Crosby’s and he’s always bringing drills that Crosby does, little things before practice to help us. It’s good to have that relationship with Toc to be able to ask questions about this player or that player.”Arizona used the seventh overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft to select Keller out of Boston University. The 2016 draft was headlined by Auston Matthews, who immediately became one of the NHL’s biggest stars with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and high-scoring Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine.Keller may have been a steal at No. 7, if that’s even possible.Though small at 5-foor-10, 170 pounds, Keller is quick Juuse Saros Jersey , shifty and sees the ice well. He got his rookie season off to a great start, scoring in his first NHL game and piling up 11 goals in Arizona’s first 16 games. Keller was the Coyotes leader in goals and points at the end of 2017.Once the calendar flipped, Keller’s production dropped off. He had three goals and 12 points through the first two months of 2018, appearing to hit the rookie wall.But Keller found his form again late in the season, finishing with 23 goals and 38 assists to break Arizona’s rookie records.“Any NHL player — the guy is turning 20 years old — consistency is key,” Tocchet said. “I’m not saying he’s inconsistent, but the great ones have a bad night and usually the next night they bounce back. That’s one of the things he’s probably going to learn.”Tocchet has tried to help Keller gain consistency by sharing some of the things he learned from Mario Lemieux and Crosby.Tocchet won a Stanley Cup while playing with Lemieux and was on the bench when Crosby led the Penguins to two titles. Both were skilled players, but also had the work ethic to become the best in their sport.“I was very lucky to be around some of the best players in the world,” Tocchet said. “I played with Mario Lemieux, coached Sidney Crosby and there’s a reason why they’re the best. They work hard. They do what it takes.”Keller doesn’t lack the work ethic. He usually shows up early for practice to work on his game and is what Tocchet calls a “hockey nerd” who is always watching the game, tons of film, asking questions.Keller expects to get more attention from opponents this season and to get banged around a little more as teams try to slow him down. He spent the summer adding strength and muscle while implementing some of the drills culled from Crosby.“I feel really good. I feel a lot stronger,” Keller said. “It should help me through this full 82 and be ready for every game.”
