William Nylander scores twice in the Maple Leafs' 4-1 victory over the Kraken

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander scored twice, Joseph Woll made 24 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Thursday night.

Matthews Knies and Auston Matthews, with a bank-shot empty-netter, also scored to help Toronto improve to 6-4-1. Matthews also had an assist.

Eeli Tolvanen scored for Seattle (5-5-1). Joey Daccord stopped 26 shots.

Knies opened the scoring late in the first period, and Nylander scored twice in the second.

Tolvanen spoiled Woll’s bid for his second career shutout with 3:28 left in regulation and Daccord on the bench for an extra attacker.

Kraken: Already missing Vince Dunn because of an upper-body injury, Seattle was down another defenseman with Brandon Montour back in Seattle for the birth of his second child.

Maple Leafs: Knies scored in a third consecutive game to give him six goals this season. Nylander leads the team with eight.

The Kraken iced the puck with less than 10 seconds to go in the first with the game scoreless. Matthews bullied his way to a win on the ensuing faceoff before feeding Mitch Marner, who in turn found Knies to complete the pretty passing play.

John Tavares became the fifth Maple Leafs player age 34 or older in the past 50 years with 10 or more points through his first 10 games of a season with an assist on Nylander’s first goal.

Seattle plays the second of five straight away from home on Saturdat night at Ottawa. Toronto opens a two-game trip Saturday night at St. Louis.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Seattle Kraken's Will Borgen (3) clears the puck around the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken in Toronto, Thursday, Oct, 31, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs center David Kampf (64) reaches over top of Seattle Kraken right wing Jordan Eberle (7) as they battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Kraken left wing Brandon Tanev (13) falls on the stick of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe (22) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Kraken left wing Brandon Tanev (13) appeals to the referee during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander (88) battles for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken in Toronto, Thursday, Oct, 31, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nine games into the Washington Capitals' season, Alex Ovechkin is scoring at a rate that would put him past Wayne Gretzky as soon as this spring.

Ovechkin scored his 858th career goal Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, putting him 37 away from breaking Gretzky's NHL record before the end of this season. He entered this season 42 away from breaking a mark that long seemed unapproachable.

“He’s been awesome,” said linemate Aliaksei Protas, who scored a goal assisted on by Ovechkin in a 6-3 victory. “The way he celebrates, you feel like it’s his first NHL goal — when you know he’s chasing one of the unreal records.”

The 39-year-old Ovechkin has already scored five this season and continues piling up goals unlike anyone at this age in hockey history.

“You see the look in his eyes, just feels happy to be there, celebrating like a kid,” Protas said. "It’s special. That’s what makes him an unbelievable player and scorer, that’s for sure. That’s how hungry he is to score.”

Ovechkin made Montreal's Cayden Primeau the 176th different goaltender he has scored on. He's well on his way to his 19th 30-goal season — and his 18 were already the most of anyone in NHL history.

After his three-point game against the Canadiens, Ovechkin credited Protas and center Dylan Strome for making it easy on him to fill the net.

“You can see empty netters, you know?" Ovechkin said. “(Strome and Protas) find me out there, and I almost miss it, too.”

Ovechkin and the Capitals are off to their best start in nearly a decade, winning seven of their first nine games for the first time since 2015-16.

“Right now, we feel fun,” Ovechkin said. "We support each other. When you win the games, the kind of atmosphere always like that from the coaches from the players. I hope it’s going to continue like that, but it doesn’t matter what’s going to happen because it’s a long season. It’s going to be ups and downs obviously, so we have to stick together no matter what.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) watches the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck against Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble (47) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, right, celebrates his goal with center Aliaksei Protas (21) and defenseman Alexander Alexeyev (27) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) shoots the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)