Alex Ovechkin had a hat-trick in a 6:33 span in the third period and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the shootout winner in the Washington Capitals’ 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators in the season opener for both teams.

Brett Connolly also scored for Washington, and Braden Holtby made 28 saves. Mark Stone struck twice for the Senators, Derick Brassard had a goal and two assists, Chris Wideman also scored, and Craig Anderson made 24 saves.

Ovechkin scored twice in a 1:23 span to tie it early in the third period.

Cody Ceci turned the puck over down low, allowing Kuznetsov to find Ovechkin for a shot he roofed past Anderson. Then, the Senators were unable to clear the puck and the same line was able to move the puck quickly to allow Ovechkin to score.

Ottawa regained the lead 1:17 later when Stone tipped in Dion Phaneuf’s shot.

Ovechkin tied it again with 9:12 left in the period.

Meanwhile, Brandon Saad scored three times in his return to Chicago and Ryan Hartman had a goal and four assists, helping the Blackhawks pound the Pittsburgh Penguins 10-1.

Nick Schmaltz added two goals and an assist as Chicago kicked off its season in style with a runaway victory over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Patrick Kane also had a goal and three assists in the Blackhawks’ highest scoring game since a 10-1 win against Winnipeg on Oct. 12, 1988.

Pittsburgh was coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis in its season opener on Wednesday, and it looked every bit like a team on the second half of back-to-back nights. Antti Niemi was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots in his Penguins debut, forcing Matt Murray to come in after he took the loss against the Blues.

Sidney Crosby found Phil Kessel for a power-play goal at 2:05 of the second period, but Chicago already had a 5-0 lead at that point. It was the most goals allowed by Pittsburgh since a 10-8 loss to San Jose on Jan. 13, 1996.

Richard Panik, Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves.

Among other results, the Detriot Red Wings beat Monnesota Wild 4-2, and Montreal Canadiens triumphed over the Buffalo Sabres 3-2.

The Boston Bruins prevailed 4-3 over the Nashville Predators