Jakob Chychrun scored twice in a three-point performance and Pierre-Luc Dubois netted one goal and one assist in his first game in more than three months to lead the host Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals, who have won four of five games, while Dylan Strome netted two assists.

Goaltender Logan Thompson made 27 saves in his first game back from missing four games due to injury, and in a final tuneup before going to the Olympics with Team Canada.

Jonathan Marchessault and Michael McCarron replied for the Predators, who were defeated in two games on successive nights.

Goalie Justus Annunen stopped 26 shots and Adam Wilsby collected a pair of assists.

Wilson, who is also off to Italy to play for Canada, opened the scoring when the puck came to him in the high slot and he buried a shot through the screen at the 4:15 mark and snapped a nine-game goal drought.

Dubois, who last played on Halloween, doubled the lead with his first goal of the season eight minutes later. He picked up the puck in the left circle and wired home a blocker-side shot.

Chychrun, surprisingly not named to Canada’s club, hit the 20-goal mark on the season when he made it a 3-0 game just before the midway point of the second period. The slick-skating blueliner eluded a check in the neutral zone, worked to the slot and unloaded a wrist shot off the bar and in the net.

He is the second defenseman in franchise history to record consecutive 20-goal seasons, joining Larry Murphy.

Marchessault gave the Predators a jolt by putting them on the board with 2:20 remaining in the second period when a deflected puck that ricocheted off his skate and into the net.

McCarron made it a one-goal game 77 seconds into the third period, and just after the Capitals had a potential goal overturned by a successful coach’s challenge for offside. During a scramble, McCarron converted his second rebound attempt.

However, Chychrun salted away the victory with 6:49 remaining in the third period by firing a top-corner shot from the slot for a power-play tally. His 21st goal marked a career high.

The win came at a cost for Washington, as defenseman John Carlson left the game late in the first period due to a lower-body injury.

–Field Level Media

Avery Hayes lit the lamp twice in an unforgettable NHL debut as the Pittsburgh Penguins put a stop to their two-game losing streak with a 5-2 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Fellow rookie Ben Kindel also found the back of the net twice for the Penguins. Pittsburgh’s Tommy Novak added a goal, and Arturs Silovs made 27 saves.

Tage Thompson tallied his 30th goal of the season and Jason Zucker scored early for the Sabres, who are 1-2-1 in their past four games.

Alex Lyon stopped 27 of the 31 shots he faced in the Sabres’ crease.

Zucker scored against his former team on the first shot of the night as he made a move around a defenseman and sent it into the top corner 1:46 into the contest.

Hayes scored a beauty on his first career shot. He sped around a defender to pick up a loose puck and fired it past Lyon to knot the contest at 1-1 with 10:42 left in the first period.

The undrafted 23-year-old Michigan native continued his dominant debut as he scored again with 1:13 left in the opening frame. He took a between-the-legs no-look pass from Anthony Mantha and sent his one-timer into the top shelf to make it 2-1.

Kindel boosted the margin to 3-1 with 12:16 left in the middle frame as the 18-year-old came roaring down on a 2-on-1 and picked the top corner.

Thompson sniped from a short angle on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 18:05 left in the third.

Silovs made his biggest save of the night with just over 11 minutes remaining. Thompson used his big frame to power past a defender, but the Penguins’ netminder read the superstar’s move and denied him of his potential second goal of the contest.

Novak extended the lead to 4-2 as the puck bounced out to him on the doorstep and he made no mistake with 4:27 left.

Kindel buried his second of the game into an empty net with 14 seconds left and the Penguins short-handed.

–Field Level Media

Brandon Ingram scored 22 of his 33 points in the first half Thursday night and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Chicago Bulls 123-107.

Immanuel Quickley added 24 points for the Raptors, who have won two of three to open a five-game homestand. Sandro Mamukelashvili posted 17 points, Collin Murray-Boyles had 17 points and three blocks, Scottie Barnes notched 13 points and Ja’Kobe Walter scored 12.

The Bulls, who completed seven trades before the deadline, featured two new players in their starting lineup and three overall. Anfernee Simons, acquired from the Boston Celtics for Nikola Vucevic, led the way with 22 points and ex-Detroit Piston Jaden Ivey added 13 as his starting backcourt partner. Guerschon Yabusele had 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Matas Buzelis contributed 18 points for the Bulls, who completed a 1-3 road trip with their sixth loss in seven games. Jalen Smith had 13 points and nine rebounds and Isaac Okoro scored 10.

Toronto led by 12 points going into the fourth quarter. The lead reached 15 on Mamukelashvili’s driving hook with 7:57 to play. Simons cut the lead to 10 on a 3-pointer with 4:53 left, but Quickley’s 3-pointer restored the 15-point margin with 2:34 remaining.

Toronto led 33-25 after the first quarter.

While the Bulls were having problems adjusting to a revamped lineup, the Raptors pulled out to a 15-point lead when Quickley hit a 10-footer with 8:12 to play in the second quarter. The Bulls responded with a 7-0 burst, capped by Simons’ layup with 5:46 to go. The Bulls pulled to within five on Ivey’s steal that set up a Buzelis layup with 1:10 remaining in the first half, but Toronto led 65-58 at halftime.

Toronto shot 58.7% (27-for-46) from the field in the first half. Chicago shot 50% (23-for-46).

Toronto took a 12-point lead early in the third quarter, but the Bulls rallied to forge a 76-76 tie when Buzelis drained a 3-pointer at the 7:28 mark.

Chicago’s lack of familiarity showed again on defense, though, and the Raptors came back with 10 straight points capped by Quickley’s six-foot floater with 5:13 to go. The Raptors led 100-88 after the third quarter.

–Field Level Media