National Hockey League Game Capsules

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Cam Atkinson tallied a pair of goals to lead the way in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. Nick Foligno and rookie Marko Dano each added a goal an assist to help the Blue Jackets to a successful home opener, with Artem Anisimov also scoring to support a 24-save effort from Sergei Bobrovsky. Columbus began its season with a 3-1 decision at Buffalo on Thursday. Former Blue Jackets star Rick Nash netted a goal against his former team, with Lee Stempniak accounting for the Rangers’ other score. Rookie Anthony Duclair registered his first two NHL assists in the loss. Cam Talbot drew the start between the pipes for New York but stopped just 19-of-23 shots.

Final Score: New Jersey 5, Florida 1

Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Eric Gelinas began a four-goal first-period barrage, and New Jersey ended up with a 5-1 victory over Florida on Saturday night. Martin Havlat, Mike Cammalleri and Damon Severson added tallies in the opening 20 minutes for the Devils, who were coming off a 6-4 decision in Philadelphia on Thursday. Ryane Clowe also lit the lamp and Cory Schneider stopped 28-of-29 shots. Derek MacKenzie supplied the lone offense for the Panthers, who began their season two days prior with a 3-2 overtime loss at Tampa Bay. Roberto Luongo surrendered five goals on 14 shots in less than 23 minutes of action to take the loss. Al Montoya finished up making 10 saves.

Final Score: NY Islanders 4, Carolina 3

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Josh Bailey’s tip-in four seconds before the second intermission proved to be the difference as the New York Islanders won their final home opener at Nassau Coliseum, 4-3, over the Carolina Hurricanes. John Tavares, Cory Conacher and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who will move to Brooklyn next season and play their home games at Barclays Center. Chad Johnson made 21 stops between the pipes to help New York move to 2-0-0 on the young season. Carolina got all three of its goals from Jiri Tlusty, who posted his second career hat trick in the setback. Alexander Semin had two assists, and Anton Khudobin surrendered all four goals on 31 shots.

Final Score: Washington 4, Boston 0

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Ovechkin scored two first-period goals and the visiting Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-0, giving Barry Trotz his first victory at the helm. Braden Holtby made 29 saves to record his 12th career shutout and Mike Green and Joel Ward added goals for Washington, which opened the season with Thursday’s home shootout loss to Montreal. Tuukka Rask stopped 17-of-21 shots for the Bruins, who have dropped two straight after opening with a win over Philadelphia.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 5, Toronto 2

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby each notched a goal and two assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins thumped the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, on Saturday. Patric Hornqvist had a goal and an assist while Chris Kunitz and Brandon Sutter also lit the lamp for the Penguins, who had opened the season with a victory over Anaheim. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots in the victory. Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak each scored a goal for the Maple Leafs, who had opened the season with a loss to Montreal on Wednesday. Jonathan Bernier was tagged with all five goals on 41 shots in the loss.

Final Score: Anaheim 3, Detroit 2

Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Ryan Getzlaf’s second goal of the game with 24 seconds remaining lifted the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Getzlaf stripped defenseman Niklas Kronwall of the puck in the right corner, skated towards the front of the net and lifted a wrister over the shoulder of Jimmy Howard to give the Ducks the victory. Matt Beleskey also scored and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for the Ducks, who bounced back from a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday. Luke Glendening and Gustav Nyquist both lit the lamp for Detroit. Howard stopped 23-of-26 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Ottawa 3, Tampa Bay 2 (SO)

Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Mika Zibanejad scored the game-winning goal in the third-round of the shootout as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Saturday night. Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson each lit the lamp for the Senators, who lost to Nashville in their opener on Thursday. Robin Lehner made 38 saves in the triumph. Brett Connolly and Victor Hedman tallied for Tampa Bay, which was seeking its first 2-0 start in five years. Ben Bishop stopped 32 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3 (SO)

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – P.A. Parenteau notched the lone goal of the shootout, enabling the Montreal Canadiens to rally from a three-goal deficit and record a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. After Matt Read shot his wrister high and over the net, Parenteau ended the fourth round and the contest by beating Ray Emery with a quick forehander inside the right post. Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk tallied in a third-period clip for the Canadiens, who have won back-to-back shootouts and improved to 3-0-0 on the year. Carey Price made 29 saves. Wayne Simmonds collected his second straight multi-goal effort for the Flyers, who avoided their third consecutive 0-3 start with a point beyond regulation. Michael Raffl added a first-period marker, while Emery finished with 35 saves in his first action of the season.

Final Score: St. Louis 4, Calgary 1

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) – David Backes’ power-play goal in the first period proved to be the game-winner in the St. Louis Blues’ 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Joakim Lindstrom, Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko also lit the lamp for the Blues, who rebounded from a 3-2 season-opening loss to the New York Rangers. Paul Stastny and Kevin Shattenkirk both recorded three assists and Brian Elliot made 23 saves in the win. Curtis Glencross scored Calgary’s lone goal and Jonas Hiller made 35 stops in net for the Flames, who have dropped two of three to open the season.

Final Score: Nashville 4, Dallas 1

Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Gaustad scored once in the third period and set up another Nashville goal shortly afterward to lift the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena. Eric Nystrom also had a goal and an assist to help the Predators move to 2-0 under new head coach Peter Laviolette. Shea Weber and Roman Josi tallied as well for Nashville, while Pekka Rinne needed to make just 17 saves in a game the Preds outshot Dallas by a 33-18 count. Antoine Roussel potted the lone Dallas goal and Anders Lindback stopped 29-of-32 shots in the loss, the Stars’ second straight to begin the season.

Final Score: Chicago 6, Buffalo 2

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Patrick Kane ignited a four-goal third period with his first tally of the season, to lead Chicago past the Buffalo Sabres, 6-2, in the Blackhawks’ home opener on Saturday. Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Daniel Carcillo also scored in the final stanza for Chicago, which opened the season with a 3-2 shootout win over Dallas on Thursday. Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith each lit the lamp in the first period and Corey Crawford made 21 saves in the win. Zemgus Girgensons scored for a second straight game and Tyler Ennis netted Buffalo’s other goal. Jhonas Enroth allowed all six goals on 47 shots.

Final Score: Minnesota 3, Colorado 0

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Two games, two shutout wins for the Minnesota Wild over the Colorado Avalanche. Darcy Kuemper turned aside 30 shots and the visiting Wild scored once in each period of Saturday’s 3-0 win, sweeping the season-opening home-and-home set with their Central Division rivals. Kuemper faced only 16 shots during Thursday’s 5-0 drubbing. Colorado played with much more energy Saturday night in front of the Pepsi Center crowd, but still couldn’t solve the Minnesota netminder. Semyon Varlamov was sharp in goal for the Avalanche, making 31 saves.

Final Score: Arizona 3, Los Angeles 2 (OT)

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s power-play goal zipped through a screen with 14 seconds remaining in overtime and delivered a 3-2 Arizona victory over defending-champion Los Angeles on Saturday. Tyler Toffoli was sent off for hooking with 1:19 to play in the extra session, and the hosts cashed in when Ekman-Larsson’s eighth shot on goal in the contest — a drive from the right wing — beat a screened Jonathan Quick. Newly- christened Arizona had dropped a 6-2 decision to Winnipeg in Thursday’s season opener. L.A. was coming off a 4-0 shutout loss at home on Wednesday. Antoine Vermette, who assisted on the game winner also tallied, with Mikkel Boedker adding a score for the Coyotes. Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 of 26 shots for his first win of the season. Tanner Pearson and Jeff Carter lit the lamp for the Kings, while Quick took the loss despite turning away 37 pucks.

Final Score: San Jose 3, Winnipeg 0

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Alex Stalock turned away all 30 shots he faced to lead the San Jose Sharks in a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl also scored for the Sharks, who opened their season on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Los Angeles. Ondrej Pavelec allowed all three goals on 26 shots for the Jets, who posted a 6-2 win over Arizona in Thursday’s season opener.

Final Score: Vancouver 5, Edmonton 4 (SO)

Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Higgins scored the lone shootout goal as the Vancouver Canucks rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 at Rogers Arena. The Canucks overcame three two-goal deficits and tied the game at 4-4 on Linden Vey’s first NHL goal at 7:06 of the third period. After an exciting overtime period, Higgins fired a wrister off the glove of Edmonton goalie Viktor Fasth to secure the extra point for Vancouver, which opened its season with a 4-2 victory at Calgary on Wednesday. Ryan Miller stopped 25-of-29 shots and improved to 8-0 lifetime against the Oilers. Fasth made 39 saves for the Oilers, who suffered a 5-2 home defeat to the Flames in Thursday’s opener.

Categorized in: NHL