Gameday 15 (Sat, 02 Feb) - Results

New Jersey v Pittsburgh 1-5 - Considering it'd been almost 10 months since they'd savored a victory at Consol Energy Center, a season-opening two-game home losing streak was feeling much longer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and two assists Saturday afternoon as the Penguins put together a complete effort in a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils. Brandon Sutter and Robert Bortuzzo each added his first goal as a Penguin, Kris Letang also scored and reigning scoring champion Evgeni Malkin had two assists for Pittsburgh, which limited New Jersey to 16 shots. The Devils were shut out during 5-on-5 play, their only goal coming from Andy Greene while shorthanded. Although New Jersey lost in regulation for the first time this season, its winless streak was extended to four. Facing his childhood idol in Martin Brodeur, Fleury didn't have to work too hard, his best saves probably both came in the first period, when he twice denied New Jersey sniper Ilya Kovalchuk from the left-wing circle. Pittsburgh reversed a season-long trend that had seen it outscored 11-2 in second periods by doubling its season output for second-period tallies in a span of 7:32. Sutter scored for the first time since a draft-day trade from Carolina 2:27 into the second on a fast sequence immediately after Crosby came out of the penalty box. Sutter entered the zone with Crosby and Malkin and took an initial shot from the slot. Brodeur went down to make the pad save, but the rebound lay to the left of Brodeur. Sutter and Crosby both made attempts to flip it over Brodeur's pads. Initially, the goal was awarded to Crosby, but official scorers switched it to Sutter. Sutter almost had his first goal in his new home arena during the first period, but Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov made a "save" on him while sprawled out in the crease. Volchenkov gave that goal right back to the Penguins in the second. Volchenkov whiffed on a pass to defense partner Bryce Salvador in front of his own net, Kunitz picked up the puck and wristed a forehand along the ice that beat Brodeur for his second of the season. Kunitz has been ill in recent days and was questionable for the game as recently as two hours prior to faceoff. At that point, Pittsburgh was rolling, and had a power play and an opportunity to really take control of the game. Instead, the Devils seized the momentum back with the first shorthanded goal of Greene's career. With Malkin at the point of the Penguins' new-look power play, Greene beat him to open ice and accepted a pass from Dainius Zubrus as he skated alone down the slot. Greene went to his backhand and slid the puck under Fleury for his first goal since March 17, 2012. But Letang made it 3-1 two-and-a-half minutes into the third, beating Brodeur after accepting a pass from Kunitz while wide open in the high slot. Crosby added his fourth of the season, but first in four games, with 12:49 left. Less than three minutes later, Crosby set up Bortuzzo's first career goal, a slapper from the point through traffic. Pascal Dupuis earned his second assist of the afternoon on the play. Like the team he plays for, Devils winger David Clarkson was held without a point for the first time this season. The franchise record for a New Jersey player's scoring streak to begin a season remains 10 (Tim Higgins, 1984-85). The 1993-94 Devils remain the only team in franchise history to earn a point in each of their first seven. New Jersey had a game end before overtime for the first time in its past five contests.

Buffalo v Montreal 1-6 - The Montreal Canadiens wanted to make the Bell Centre a feared venue for opposing teams again after finishing last in the NHL in home wins last season. The Canadiens took advantage of a flat Buffalo Sabres club Saturday afternoon to register their fourth straight win on home ice in a 6-1 blowout victory in the front end of their traditional Super Bowl weekend matinees. Coach Michel Therrien made it a priority for the Canadiens from the day he was hired in June to improve on last season's home record of 16-15-10. The early returns look promising with a record of 4-1-0 at Bell Centre. The team did not have had much of a choice, because if the Canadiens continued to struggle at home to start this season, their playoff hopes could have been dashed very quickly. The Canadiens' home game Sunday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators will be their sixth in eight games to start the season, part of a stretch that sees them play 12 of their first 18 games at home through Feb. 23. After that, the Canadiens will play 11 of 15 games on the road between Feb. 25 and March 27, so if they don't bank points at home now, it could make it difficult to make up ground later. A big reason why the Canadiens are succeeding in doing that has been the resurgent play of Rene Bourque, who scored twice Saturday and has been a consistent performer on the team's top line with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. Bourque struggled mightily after he was traded to the Canadiens by the Calgary Flames last season, and after undergoing abdominal surgery over the summer he says he was determined to show the team's fans the player they saw last season was not the one who put up back-to-back 27-goal seasons with the Flames in 2009-10 and 2010-11. With three goals and two assists through seven games, a point total he had after his first 17 games with the Canadiens last season, Bourque is convincing people he can return to his form of old. David Desharnais also scored twice, Lars Eller had a goal and two assists and Brendan Gallagher added a goal for the Canadiens (5-2-0), who welcomed defenseman P.K. Subban back into the lineup after he missed training camp and the first six games of the season in a contract dispute. The Sabres were coming off a thrilling 7-4 win in Boston on Thursday, but none of that momentum appeared to make its way past the Canadian border and into Montreal. The scorching-hot Thomas Vanek scored a shorthanded goal on a third-period breakaway to snap Carey Price's shutout bid and make it a 5-1 game, but it was far too late for the Sabres (3-4-1) to muster a comeback. Vanek's goal gave him at least a point in each of the seven games he's played and increased his League-leading total to 16 points. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller did not make it to the third period, getting pulled by Ruff at the second intermission after allowing four goals on 21 shots. It was the third straight game Miller has allowed four goals, and his save percentage over that span is .862 while his record is 1-3-1 over his last five starts. Still, Ruff commended Miller for keeping the score at 1-0 after a first period in which the Sabres were outshot 15-1. Canadiens rookie Alex Galchenyuk had two assists for a third time in his last four games, giving the No. 3 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft a goal and six assists in seven games. Prior to the games Saturday night, that placed Galchenyuk third in rookie scoring behind Tampa Bay's Cory Conacher and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko. Despite thoroughly dominating the first period, the Canadiens were eight seconds away from entering the first intermission in a scoreless tie. But a perfectly executed set play on the power play allowed Gionta to find Bourque driving the net at 19:52 to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. The Sabres came out with more life in the second, but it was the Canadiens who took over the game in the period. Gallagher scored his third of the season when his attempt to complete a give-and-go play with Galchenyuk wound up bouncing in off the stick of Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and past Miller at 2:03. Desharnais and Eller then scored goals 28 seconds apart at 10:08 and 10:36, with both getting their first goals of the season. Bourque scored his second of the game at 1:22 of the third off a Plekanec feed that was a near-carbon copy of his first goal, beating Sabres backup Jhonas Enroth on the first shot he faced. Marcus Foligno grabbed a Raphael Diaz giveaway to send Vanek away of his shorthanded breakaway at 3:01 of the third, but Desharnais got his second on a power play at 12:43 after Eller corralled a rebound of a Subban shot and set him up with an open net.

Edmonton v Colorado 1-3 - Qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three years is an obvious goal for the Colorado Avalanche. So is improving last season's mediocre home record. The Avalanche are off to a good start in that department with three wins in as many home games following Saturday's 3-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at the Pepsi Center to begin a four-game homestand. The Avalanche remained in the hunt for a postseason berth until the final week last season and might have succeeded except for gaining only 46 points in 41 home games. PA Parenteau and Jamie McGinn scored 3:29 apart late in the second period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead, and Stastny scored into an empty net with 1:10 to play in the third period shortly after exiting the penalty box. Stastny admitted to sweating a bit while watching his teammates kill off what turned out to be a 6-on-4 Oilers' power play with goalie Devan Dubnyk off the ice for an extra skater. He had momentarily covered the puck in the right circle with his glove to earn a delay of game faceoff violation with 3:20 left in regulation. Parenteau collected his team-leading sixth goal at 12:07 of the second period, three seconds after the Avalanche failed to connect on back-to-back power plays, to tie the game 1-1. He skated to the front of the net to put a deflection behind Dubnyk after Ryan Wilson fired a shot from the blue line that first hit McGinn. McGinn, who has launched a team-leading 24 shots in the Avalanche's first eight games, broke the tie at 15:36 with his first goal. It came 10 seconds after Colorado finished killing off a hooking penalty to David Van Der Gulik. Matt Duchene set up the goal with a pass in front after stealing the puck from Ales Hemsky and fending off the Oiler's check. Duchene enjoyed a big game with six shots and two assists in 25:07 of ice time. He also won 16 of 24 faceoffs and helped kill off all three of the Oilers' power plays, but was happier to see McGinn finally light the lamp. The Avalanche took a season-high 40 shots, 18 of which came during six unsuccessful power plays. Colorado has gone just 2-of-27 with the man advantage this season. The Oilers couldn't build on their quick start after rookie Nail Yakupov scored on the game's initial shot at the 58-second mark of the first period. Spending so much time in the penalty box didn't help. The Avalanche started the game without three injured forwards, Steve Downie (knee), David Jones (knee) and Gabriel Landeskog (head), and lost Wilson to a leg injury late in the second period. Wilson will be re-evaluated Sunday.

Boston v Toronto 1-0 - The Boston Bruins executed a sound technical game and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, avenging late defensive lapses that led to their first regulation loss against the Buffalo Sabres 48 hours earlier. Tuukka Rask stopped 21 saves for his 12th career shutout. However, Boston lost a key cog when gritty forward Brad Marchand left the game with an undisclosed injury in the second period and did not return. With the win, the Bruins improved to 6-1-1 on the season and moved five points ahead of the Maple Leafs. Boston also has a one-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Eastern Conference standings. Bruins coach Claude Julien thought highly of his team's rebound after losing 7-4 on Thursday, saying it was "definitely up there," among the best hockey Boston has played all season. The visitors got all the offense they needed early, scoring the only goal nine minutes into the game on Chris Bourque's first NHL goal since Dec. 30, 2008. Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly picked up the assists. Peverley fed a charging Kelly with a beautiful pass, allowing him to beat Colton Orr to the puck. Kelly then slid a pass across the crease to Bourque, who beat James Reimer (33 saves) to give Boston a 1-0 lead. For extended portions of the game, the Bruins stifled the Maple Leafs at every opportunity, preventing them from breaking out and getting their sticks and bodies in the way of passing and shooting lanes. Toronto (4-4-0) turned the puck over too often at the Boston blue line, got bottled up in the neutral ice "and they started to grind us," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. When the Maple Leafs did manage to put pressure on Rask, he was equal to the task. One of his best stops occurred in the second period, when he robbed Phil Kessel with a great glove save on a chance from the top of the crease. The Bruins had several golden opportunities to increase their lead throughout the game, but Reimer turned away shot after shot including good chances by Andrew Ference, Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton from close range. Marchand went down to injury at 6:30 of the second after he collided with Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek and then the goal post as he swooped in on Reimer. The puck ended up bouncing off a Bruin and into the net, but after review it was deemed that the referee was in the process of whistling the play dead following the incidental contact between Marchand and Reimer. Marchand seemed to be favoring his shoulder on the Bruins' bench, he managed to take a couple of more shifts but did not return to the game. It is not the first time the Bruins have made a pre-emptive move with a potential injury. Daniel Paille remained in Boston in a precautionary move after being high-sticked in the face on Thursday. Shawn Thornton is also sidelined with a concussion. After the Bruins scored to open the game, Cody Franson thought he had tied it a few minutes later at 11:32 on a low point shot that beat Rask. But the goal was waved off without review as replays clearly showed Nazem Kadri had interfered with the Bruins' goaltender.

Carolina v Philadelphia 3-5 - The Philadelphia Flyers admitted poor performances on special teams was a big reason for their 2-6-0 start to the season. On Saturday, that trend reversed itself. The Flyers went 3-for-3 on the power play and killed off five of six shorthanded situations, including a pair of back-to-back kills midway through the third period, as they snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Claude Giroux and Danny Briere each had a goal and an assist, and Kurtis Foster, Braydon Coburn and Mike Knuble also scored for Philadelphia. For four of the five goal-scorers, it was their first goal of the season, while Giroux's goal was his first in six games. Ilya Bryzgalov was strong in goal, stopping a season-high 39 shots. Eric Staal had a goal and an assist, and Joni Pitkanen and Patrick Dwyer also scored for Carolina. Starting goalie Dan Ellis struggled (four goals allowed on 12 shots), and was replaced by Cam Ward early in the second period. Ward stopped 12 of 13 shots. The Flyers scored three times in the first period, with two of the goals coming on the power play. Their performance with the man-advantage Saturday stood in contrast to their first eight games, when they were just 5-for-40 (12.5 percent). Foster gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 5:08 into the game after an interference penalty on Jussi Jokinen gave Philadelphia the game's first power play. Matt Read faked a shot from the left side and sent the puck across to Foster, who loaded up a one-timer and fired a rocket past Ellis' glove for his first goal since Feb. 4, 2012. Pitkanen scored to tie the game, capitalizing on a Flyers’ defensive-zone breakdown. Staal pulled a puck off the wall on the right side, and all five Flyers got caught on that side. Staal found Pitkanen open in the left circle, and his wrist shot beat Bryzgalov at 8:47. After Coburn crashed the net to bat in the rebound of a Jakub Voracek shot at 15:25 to put the Flyers ahead, Briere made it a 3-1 game 58 seconds later when he scored his first of the season. Another penalty on Jokinen gave the Flyers their second power play, and with Tye McGinn and Briere battling in front, it was Briere who was able to bang the puck under Ellis at 15:25. Just 33 seconds later, however, Carolina stole back the momentum when a pass attempt by Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn from deep in his zone went off the skates of the Hurricanes' Jiri Tlusty and right to Staal, who shoveled the puck under Bryzgalov as he fell to the ice at 15:58. The Flyers were able to restore their two-goal lead 52 seconds into the second period on a defensive-zone gaffe by Carolina. Justin Faulk gave the puck away to Read, who was able to direct it to Knuble, who walked in front and scored. For Knuble, who was playing his fifth game after signing Jan.25 for his second tour with the Flyers, the feeling was one he wasn't sure he was going to enjoy again. Knuble's last regular-season goal as a Flyer came April 11, 2009. After Carolina took a penalty for having too many men on the ice, Giroux made the Hurricanes pay when he took a pass from Timonen at the top of the left circle and fired a low wrist shot through a McGinn screen and past Ward at 12:43 for his third of the season. Not only was it Giroux's first goal since the second game of the season, the two points were his first in three games. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he had spoken to Giroux about not trying to do too much, and it appeared the message got through. The Flyers' power play would qualify as great Saturday, thanks in part to all three goals having one similar element. Carolina got an opportunity to get back in the game when Voracek was sent off for tripping at 1:33, and Dwyer cashed in at 3:29. He got a step on Maxime Talbot and tipped a Jordan Staal centering pass past Bryzgalov for his second of the season. Bryzgalov helped make the lead stand up, stopping 14 of 15shots in the third period as the Flyers were out-shot 15-3 in the final 20 minutes, and 42-24 for the game. Carolina had two great chances to further cut into the Philadelphia lead when Coburn was sent off for interference at 9:23, and 13 seconds after he stepped out of the box Talbot was sent off for delay of game when his clearing attempt went over the glass at 11:36. Carolina got just one shot on goal during the two man-advantages and the Flyers blocked four shots.

NY Rangers v Tampa Bay 3-2 - With one power move, Rick Nash demonstrated why the New York Rangers were so eager to get him. Nash broke around defenseman Victor Hedman, cut to the net and scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period as the Rangers beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Saturday night, ending the Lightning's five-game winning streak. After Nash put New York up by one goal, Carl Hagelin scored what proved to be the game-winner with 5:13 remaining when he went to the net and deflected a pass by Taylor Pyatt through Garon's legs. Tampa Bay cut the deficit to one goal when Steven Stamkos, who had opened the scoring early in the second period, beat Rangers goaltender Martin Biron with 21 seconds remaining and Garon on the bench for an extra attacker. But Stamkos' seventh goal of the season wasn't enough to keep the Lightning (6-2-0) from losing for the first time in six home games, and the first time anywhere since Jan. 21. The win was the first road victory of the season for the Rangers (4-4-0) as they bounced back from a poor effort in a 3-0 home loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday by shutting down a Tampa Bay offense that came into the game averaging 5.3 goals. Stamkos opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:22 of the second period, taking a pass from Matt Carle and beating Biron from 10 feet. The goal extended his points streak to eight games. Martin St. Louis earned the other assist, his 11th of the season. The Rangers tied the game at 9:50, eight seconds after a hooking penalty to Stamkos expired. Pyatt got a shot through a crowd in front of the Lightning net and Derek Stepan flipped in the rebound for his first goal of the season. Biron, making his first start of the season after Henrik Lundqvist played the first seven games, stopped 30 shots for to get the win. The Lightning had outscored their opponents 16-5 in the third period before Saturday. But Tampa Bay was playing the second of a back-to-back, the Lightning routed the Winnipeg Jets 8-3 on Friday night, and coach Guy Boucher recognized that his team wore down as the game progressed. In the final seconds, a slap shot from the left point hit Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier in the foot and after he fell, he left the ice visibly limping. The Lightning said he was being evaluated but had no further word on his condition. The Rangers will try to go over the .500 mark when they visit the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. The Lightning begin a four-game road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Detroit v Columbus 2-4 - Artem Anisimov gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a much-needed offensive boost against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Anisimov scored twice, breaking a 1-1 tie in a 4-2 win at Nationwide Arena. Acquired in the trade that sent Rick Nash to the New York Rangers, Anisimov has four goals on the season. Nash has two. The Blue Jackets had scored seven goals total in their previous six games (winning once), and Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard was 10-1-1 in his previous 12 decisions against Columbus. Anisimov put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 when he capitalized on a turnover by Niklas Kronwall along the boards to Howard's left and flipped a forehand shot past him 2:32 into the second period. He made it 3-1 when he took a sharp, diagonal cross-ice pass from defenseman John Moore in the faceoff circle to Howard's right, skated in front of the crease and slid a backhander into the net at 17:18. It was Anisimov's first multigoal game since Nov. 11, 2010, when he scored twice for the Rangers against the Buffalo Sabres. He had 16 goals in 79 games last season. Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski tied the game at 1-1 with a one-timer from just inside the blue line that beat Howard at 18:17 of the first period. Wisniewski was injured at 1:39 of the second period when he crashed into the end boards back-first. Chasing the puck with teammate Nick Foligno, Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader appeared to make contact with Foligno, who then bumped into Wisniewski, causing him to fall. He skated off with help from two teammates and did not return. Richards said afterward Wisniewski suffered a concussion. With the Jackets down to five defensemen, Johnson played 34:59, the most ice time in regulation for any player this season and the most for any player in franchise history. He had an assist, four shots on goal and was plus-1. The game's opening goal came on a precision passing play by the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg won a faceoff back to Jonathan Ericsson, who slid the puck across to Kronwall. His shot was stopped by Steve Mason but Johan Franzen tucked in the rebound 8:36 into the game. Howard played again the night after the Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-3 in Detroit. With backups Jonas Gustavsson and Joey MacDonald injured, only one-game veteran Tom McCollum could have played in Howard's place. Zetterberg, who had a hat trick and two assists against the Blues, had a six-game point streak end; he had 12 points over that span. Pavel Datsyuk also went scoreless, ending his six-game streak with nine points. Mark Letestu scored a shorthanded goal for Columbus 13:25 into the third period. Mason made 32 saves for his first win. Damien Brunner had Detroit's second goal with 26.4 seconds remaining. The Red Wings, already ravaged by injuries on defense, lost another blueliner when Brendan Smith left with a shoulder injury after a first-period hit by Blue Jackets forward Derek MacKenzie.

Dallas v Phoenix 0-2 - Raffi Torres is back on the ice. Mike Smith is back in synch. And after a slow start, the Phoenix Coyotes are starting to climb out of their early-season malaise. Smith stopped all 17 shots he saw, and went 17 minutes without seeing one in the second period, while Nick Johnson and Mikkel Boedker scored goals and the Coyotes celebrated Torres' return from suspension with a convincing 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena on Saturday. The Coyotes are now 2-0-2 in their last four games after a 1-4-0 start and reinforcements continue to join the fold. Smith, who came into the game 0-2-1 with a 4.00 goals-against average and missed a week with a groin injury, recorded his 20th career shutout and his ninth in one-plus seasons with Phoenix. Richard Bachman made 32 saves in his first start of the season for Dallas, but the Stars' offense continues to struggle away from home. The Stars have scored just four goals in the last six road games dating back to last season and have now been shut out in three times. Part of the problem is penalties, Dallas has had to kill 45 power plays in their first nine games and gave Phoenix seven chances, five in the first 30 minutes. The Coyotes needed this win. It was their first in three tries against Dallas, they lost 4-3 in a shootout in Texas on Friday, and their first victory in five tries within the Pacific Division (1-3-1). Playing without leading scorer Ray Whitney, who will miss a month with a broken bone in his foot, Dallas was the more aggressive team early in the first period and Smith had to make big early saves on Brenden Morrow, Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn. But that was about it for the Stars, who had only nine shots in the first two periods and spent much of that time killing penalty after penalty. Torres, who was suspended for 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games last spring and the first eight of this season for his hit on Chicago's Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, made his return to a loud roar on the third shift of the game. He delivered a solid hit on Fiddler midway through the period but had an otherwise uneventful evening, playing 12 minutes and being credited with four shots and two hits. The Coyotes had three power plays in the first period and two more in the first five minutes of the second, with frustrating results. Finally at 11:57, on their 20th shot and at even strength, Phoenix broke through. Smith nudged a puck forward and Lauri Korpikoski found Johnson in stride on the rush. Johnson peeled into the slot and caught Bachman drifting off the post on the short side. The goal was Johnson's third in the last four games, and Phoenix fed off the momentum. With injuries to Matthew Lombardi, Steve Sullivan and Martin Hanzal early in the season, Johnson was recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League and has four points in five games. Meanwhile Dallas had just three shots in the period and went more than 17 minutes without a single one. The Stars have been outshot 112-73 in the second period this season. They started the third on a sour note, when Michael Ryder was sent to the box and the Coyotes finally chased in. Bachman was able to stop Derek Morris' blast from the point, but couldn't control the rebound. The puck deflected off Phoenix center Martin Hanzal and dropped at the feet of Boedker, who scored his second goal and seventh point in the first nine games.

Chicago v Calgary 3-2 - Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't hold back when describing the all-world performance his goaltender put forth Saturday night. Marian Hossa erased a 2-1 deficit with 3.1 seconds remaining in regulation and Patrick Kane had a goal, assist and the shootout winner for Chicago, which was coming off back-to-back shootout losses and was playing its second game in as many days and third in four nights. Having to playing that much hockey in a short span, the Blackhawks were in need of a spark. Emery provided it. The loss drops the Flames to 1-3-2 on the season but coach Bob Hartley believes the team is heading in the right direction despite back-to-back losses. After unsuccessful attempts from Alex Tanguay and Jonathan Toews in the shootout, Emery stopped Jiri Hudler on Calgary's second shootout attempt. Kane stepped up and deked Flames starter Miikka Kiprusoff, sliding the puck between his legs for the shootout's only goal. Emery denied Roman Cervenka on Calgary's final chance to secure the victory. Kane was previously 0-2 in Chicago's shootout losses. The shootout was a necessity after Emery was able to hold the Flames at bay in overtime. With a power play in the extra frame, Emery closed the door on both Hudler and Tanguay. He then got an assist from the post on Jarome Iginla's wrist shot. Returning to even strength, the Flames continued to press in the offensive end, but couldn't sneak another puck past Emery. Some late-game heroics from Hossa enabled Chicago to limp into overtime, too. Trailing after Jay Bouwmeeseter broke a 1-1 tie with 34.2 seconds remaining in the third period, Hossa picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it over the glove of Kiprusoff to tie the game with 3.1 seconds left and force overtime. That goal came after 24-save third period effort from Emery, whose thieving began right from the drop of the puck to start the game. But after a sluggish start with their heavy schedule, it was Chicago who almost opened the scoring on their first shot. After keeping the play onside at the blue line, Kane found Toews at the side of the net. Kiprusoff sprawled in full splits to blocker away Toews' opportunity and kept the game scoreless five minutes in. Opening up early in the second period, both teams traded clear-cut breakaways. Forty-seven seconds into the period, Hossa stripped the puck from Flames defenseman TJ Brodie and broke in untouched on Kiprusoff. Uncorking a slap shot from the hashmarks, Hossa got enough on the shot to get it through the Calgary keeper but not enough to propel it over the line. Five minutes after Hossa's chance, Jarome Iginla had a similar opportunity. Skating in alone from center ice, Iginla tried squeezing his first of the season through the legs of Emery but was denied for one of 10 stops made by the Blackhawks' goaltender in the period. Scoreless entering the third, Calgary pushed the pace against the tired Chicago club. Matt Stajan pulled the puck from the feet of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook and fired a shot that went off the shoulder of Emery just 33 seconds in. Two minutes later, Curtis Glencross took a stretch pass from Dennis Wideman and broke in on a partial break, ringing the puck of the crossbar. Kane capitalized on Glencross' misfortune, converting on a Patrick Sharp rebound and sliding it under Flames goalie Kiprusoff to make it 1-0 4:08 into the period. Pressing for the equalizer and staring at an open net, Mikael Backlund had the puck roll off his stick after a Glencross feed left him staring at a gaping cage. Emery then flashed his pad on Tanguay cutting through the crease after a Michael Cammalleri feed and denied both Backlund and Glencross one more time. With Duncan Keith in the box for delay of game after knocking the Chicago net off under pressure, the Flames drew even. Wideman's centering feed hit the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook and directed into the net at 13:23 for his first as a member of the Flames. Tanguay recorded his 500th career assist on the play. On another power play with less than two minutes remaining, Cervenka centered the puck from behind the net onto the stick of Hudler alone in the slot, but Emery denied him on with his pad on the initial attempt and Glencross with the rebound on the doorstep. Bouwmeester and Hossa then exchanged goals in the final minute to force overtime and Kane's eventual shootout winner.

Los Angeles v Anaheim 4-7 - Welcome to the local rivalry, Nick Bonino. The former Boston University star entered Saturday night scoreless in six previous career games against the Los Angeles Kings. He was also demoted to the fourth line after a try centering Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan proved ineffective. Bonino introduced himself with his first career hat trick in a 7-4 win as the Anaheim Ducks won a wildly entertaining game in front of a mixed-fan standing-room only crowd at Honda Center in the first meeting of the teams since the Kings won the Stanley Cup last spring. Bonino completed his hat trick when he shoveled in his own rebound from the left side of the net at 8:39 of the third period for a 6-4 lead. Selanne added a late insurance goal, the 666th of his career, to cap a game that finally lived up the expected rivalry as Los Angeles tied it three times, only to have Anaheim pull ahead every time. The win came at the potential cost of defenseman Cam Fowler, who left with an upper body injury after he was driven into the boards by Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll at 16:31 of the second period. Boudreau said Fowler seemed alert when he saw him in the medical room. Bonino said his approach didn't change after the demotion. The Ducks expect big things from the young forward, who was switched from jersey No. 63 to No. 13 in training camp, Anaheim's way of showing that a player is established. This type of defensive lapse didn't happen to Los Angeles much last season. The Kings have allowed five goals in regulation twice in their first seven games after they allowed that many twice all of last season, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not a good sign in the first of five games away from home. The Ducks took leads of 4-3 and 5-4 on second-period power-play goals by Sheldon Souray and Kyle Palmieri. Souray unloaded his big slap shot with Mike Richards screening Jonathan Bernier, and Palmieri one-timed Saku Koivu's pass from the high slot into the net to put the Ducks ahead to stay. Anaheim went 3 for 4 on the power play against a usually strong Kings penalty kill. It didn't matter that the Kings matched their power-play goal total from the previous six games. Corey Perry capped a five-goal opening period with a gorgeous backhand feed to Ryan Getzlaf in the slot. Anaheim was able to get Getzlaf's line out against L.A.'s fourth line, and Getzlaf won the faceoff to Perry. The opening minutes let everyone know that this was going to be a wild night. Bonino scored twice in the first 5:49 to energize Anaheim. He grabbed the puck away from Colin Fraser and stickhandled past Jake Muzzin and a sprawled Jonathan Quick to score at 2:30. He then skated behind the Kings' goal line with Doughty defending and swiped the puck under Quick's left pad from his knees. That forced Kings coach Darryl Sutter to pull Quick for the first time since Feb. 9, 2012, and Bernier made his first appearance since last March 31. Emerson Etem assisted on both of Bonino's goals for his first NHL points. The 11 goals matched the highest combined total in the 109-game series. Anaheim also matched its highest-scoring game against L.A., matching the seven goals it scored on Nov. 8, 1996.

Nashville v San Jose 2-1 - Thanks to Nashville's Craig Smith and Pekka Rinne, the San Jose Sharks' perfect season is over. Smith scored the only goal in the shootout and Rinne stopped all three San Jose shooters to give the Nashville Predators a 2-1 victory on Saturday night, ending the Sharks' season-opening winning streak at seven games. Smith raced in on Antti Niemi, deked him to the ice and flipped a backhander into the net. Pekka Rinne then stopped Joe Pavelski for the win, Nashville's second shootout victory in as many games, the Predators won 2-1 in an eight-round tiebreaker on Thursday. Five of Nashville's eight games have gone to a shootout. The road-weary Predators improved to 3-2-1 on a seven-game trip that ends Tuesday in St. Louis. Smith had been scoreless in four shootout attempts before this season. He's made two of his four tries after making some adjustments. Rinne, who has played in all five of Nashville's shootout, lost the first three but has won the last two. The last two of San Jose's victories also came in shootouts, they beat Anaheim on Tuesday and Edmonton on Thursday. The Sharks' team-record third straight tiebreaker didn't turn out as well against the defense-minded Predators. Neither team scored until Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn beat Niemi 59 seconds into the third period. Colin Wilson controlled the puck along the right boards and found Kostitsyn in the slot for a quick shot that caught the corner for his first goal of the season. But the Predators were called for having too many men on the ice with 7:34 remaining, and the Sharks took advantage to tie the game. Scott Gomez freed the puck behind the net and slid it to Martin Havlat, who whipped a backhander past Niemi from the slot for his third of the season. Nashville had a power-play chance in overtime when Havlat was called for hooking with 2:12 remaining, but the Sharks killed off the penalty, extending their streak to 21 straight kills.