WASHINGTON — Cody Eakin scored in his season debut, but the Golden Knights struggled on special teams and lost 5-2 to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final at Capital One Arena.
Reilly Smith scored at 7:08 of the third period to cut Washington’s lead to 3-2 before Alex Ovechkin banged in the second of his two goals a little more than three minutes later.
It was Ovechkin’s 611th career goal, passing Hall of Famer Bobby Hull for 17th on the all-time list.
Max Pacioretty appeared to bring the Knights to within 4-3 with 5:22 remaining, but Capitals coach Todd Rierden successfully challenged that Pacioretty was offside in the build-up.