WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexis Lafreniere's 100th career goal was nearly overshadowed because the New York Rangers scored so many in the third period.
Lafreniere reached his milestone as part of a five-goal third that rallied the Rangers to a 7-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. The former No. 1 overall draft pick hadn't scored in seven games before Artemi Panarin's shot deflected off him and in to put the Rangers ahead to stay.
Click to Gallery
Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Beauvillier (72) and New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) chase after the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The puck shot by New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière, not seen, gets past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) for a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) battles for the puck against Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry (42) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
“I knew I was at 99, so it's good to get it,” Lafreniere said. “It's a good feeling.”
Lafreniere reached No. 100 while playing against Alex Ovechkin, who holds the NHL record with 911 goals.
“I need to play until I'm 80," Lafreniere said with a laugh.
New York was down 3-2 after two periods, but Taylor Raddysh tied it with his second goal of the game. Lafreniere made it 4-3 just 68 seconds later.
And the Rangers were far from finished. Vincent Trocheck made it 5-3, Panarin scored into an empty net and Trocheck added one more with Washington goalie Logan Thompson back between the pipes.
“I don't think it was a situation where we go into the third and we lose all of this momentum,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “I just think it's a couple of plays, and then you're chasing it from there.”
Washington had been 16-0-0 when leading after two.
The Rangers continue to impress away from home. They're 14-6-1 on the road vs. 5-10-3 at Madison Square Garden. After the Christmas break, they play at the Islanders, Hurricanes and Capitals before facing the Panthers in the Winter Classic in Florida.
New York's next home game is Jan. 5.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Beauvillier (72) and New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) chase after the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The puck shot by New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière, not seen, gets past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) for a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) battles for the puck against Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry (42) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins put up a pretty good fight against the rival Montreal Canadiens — for one period.
Boston's Tanner Jeannot and Montreal's Josh Anderson dropped the gloves at the opening faceoff of Tuesday night's game. Another first-period fight helped set the tone for the Bruins, who had beaten Montreal eight of the previous 10 meetings.
But after falling behind 2-1, the Canadiens scored five straight goals — four of them in a five-minute span in the third period — to win 6-2 and put some distance between the Original Six teams who are jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bruins lost the last four games on their homestand after winning five of their previous six. They have three days off before heading to a five-game road trip.
"We all recognized it was the last game before break — against the Habs, at the Garden,” forward Alex Steeves said. “We were down early, but we bounced back. Energy was good. And then it just got away from us.”
Five weeks after starting a fight from the opening faceoff in Montreal, the teams did it again. Jeannot, who has 53 goals and 435 penalty minutes in his career, and Anderson (154 and 582) fought for about a minute while teammates on both benches banged their sticks against the boards in approval.
The Bruins forward landed several blows before his Canadiens counterpart went to the ice, drawing a big roar and a chant of “U-S-A!” from the TD Garden crowd. Midway through the first period, it happened again, with Boston's Nikita Zadorov and Montreal's Arber Xhekaj dropping their gloves off a faceoff in the Bruins' end.
“It had everything to me: Guys winning fights, guys laying their body on the (line),” forward David Pastrnak said. “It’s easy to get into the game when you have guys like this."
In all, there were nine penalties for 30 minutes in the first, with Boston taking a 2-1 lead on Steeves' power-play goal with 18 seconds left in the period.
“It gives the whole building energy -- not just us players,” Steeves said. “Some guys on the bench just said it was the loudest we’ve heard the building. So it’s awesome. Those guys lay their bodies on the line every night. It’s up to us as a team to galvanize around that and really use that.”
But the penalties in the third were costly, with the Canadiens twice capitalizing on 5-on-3 advantages to pull away. Montreal ended the night with 45 points, four more than Boston and good for third in the Eastern Conference; the Bruins were out of playoff position.
“I still can’t believe that the game actually ended 2-6,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “Even after the first period, guys came ready to play today. They were very excited.”
The Bruins had won eight of the last 10 matchups between the teams, including a 3-2 win in Montreal on Nov. 15. That game also featured several scuffles, including a fight at the opening faceoff. But the bigger problem for the Bruins had nothing to do with the fisticuffs: star defenseman Charlie McAvoy was hit in the face by a slap shot, causing him to miss almost a month.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) looks back at the puck on a goal by Montreal Canadiens' Sammy Blais during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) heads to the locker room after a loss to the Montreal Canadiens following an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) fights Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) fights Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Bruins left wing Tanner Jeannot (84) fights against Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
