The Washington Capitals edged Southeast Division rivals Tampa Bay 6-5 in a shootout Monday to pick up a hard-earned home victory over their playoff nemesis from last season. Jason Chimera tied the scores with 2:44 left in regulation, his second goal of the third period, to send the game into overtime and Washington prevailed in the shootout, getting the better of the team who had swept them in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals. “We have to work harder (this year), that's for sure,” Chimera told reporters after recording his first two-goal game since 2007. “We know we have all the skill in the world on paper, everyone knows that, but you have to put the work boots on some nights and that's what counts.” The Capitals got a boost from newly acquired goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who was signed in the off-season and made 23 saves on his debut. Vokoun allowed five goals in regulation but made five saves in overtime and another in the shootout to give the Caps their second win of the new season. Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin netted the shootout scores for the Capitals. With the score tied at 3-3 heading into the third, Chimera put the Caps ahead before Tampa Bay (1-1-1) battled back to take the lead on goals from Nate Thompson and Brett Clark. Chimera then got his second goal of the game to send it into overtime. Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves but was beaten twice in the shootout to take the loss. New Jersey 4, Carolina 2: Intent on avoiding another poor start, the Devils took a step in the right direction Monday with a solid 4-2 victory against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Ilya Kovalchuk scored the deciding goal and added two assists, and Johan Hedberg made 24 saves. “Everybody is in the same position right now,” Kovalchuk said. “You want to get as many wins as you can early because the season always goes up and down. You want the wins now to help yourself later on.” Islanders 2, Wild 1: Andrew MacDonald and Frans Nielsen scored first-period goals and the Islanders hung on for a victory over visiting Minnesota despite a lackluster final two periods. Al Montoya had 20 saves in his second straight start over Rick DiPietro. Avalanche 1, Bruins 0: Milan Hejduk scored with 12:03 left in the third period and Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots for his fifth career shutout, lifting visiting Colorado over Boston. Canucks 3, Blue Jackets 2: Alexandre Burrows's power-play goal midway through the third period capped Vancouver's comeback and sent host Columbus to its first 0-3 start in franchise history. Stars 2, Coyotes 1: Mike Ribeiro beat Phoenix goalie Mike Smith with the final shot of the first shootout round to give host Dallas a victory. Blues 5, Flames 2: Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and an assist to lead host St. Louis to its first win of the season.
