NY Islanders v New Jersey 4-3 SO - John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo were shut out for 65 minutes Friday at Prudential Center, but the Islanders pulled out a 4-3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils. Moulson scored the only goal in the shootout in the bottom of the sixth round to give the Islanders a win in their season opener. They play their home opener Saturday at Nassau Coliseum against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Michael Grabner scored twice within the first 34 minutes and delivered an assist on Frans Nielsen's go-ahead goal 61 seconds into the third period. Travis Hamonic, Josh Bailey and Matt Donovan had assists, and Nabokov made 26 saves, including five in the shootout. Damien Brunner scored twice for the Devils, who got 23 saves from Martin Brodeur, but New Jersey couldn't avoid losing for the second straight night. The Devils, who were shutout 3-0 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, managed one of four possible points in the first of their League-high 22 back-to-back sets. Brunner scored his first with the Devils 2:59 into the first period, but Grabner came back just over five minutes later and used his speed to knife through the middle of the defense before beating Brodeur with a shot underneath his stacked pads. Grabner's speed and a smart pass from Bailey helped the Islanders tie the game again, this time at 2-2, with 6:17 to play in the second period. Bailey blocked Anton Volchenkov's dump-in attempt, found the puck at his feet, spun and found Grabner streaking into the neutral zone with a blind pass. It sent Grabner down the right wing in stride for a shot off the rush from the circle that squeezed through Brodeur. Grabner had a breakaway opportunity in the third period with the game tied at 3-3, but Brodeur stoned him with a blocker save. He was robbed by Brodeur's glove hand in the first period. Brunner scored each of his goals, including the tying goal with 12:26 to play in the third period, from Nabokov's doorstep. Michael Ryder gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead 4:46 into the second with a quick wrist shot from the left circle that beat Nabokov high on the blocker side. Adam Henrique had a couple of excellent chances, but he hit the post once and was robbed by Nabokov on a power play less than two minutes after Ryder scored. Nabokov came across his crease to stop Henrique's shot.
Detroit v Carolina 3-2 OT - Stephen Weiss, signed by the Red Wings as a free agent this summer, tucked in a loose puck with 1:47 remaining in OT to give Detroit a come-from-behind 3-2 win at PNC Arena, spoiling the home opener for the Carolina Hurricanes. Johan Franzen drove to the net and was denied by Carolina goaltender Cam Ward, but Weiss tucked in the loose puck to cap Detroit's comeback from a 2-0 deficit after two periods. Detroit trailed 2-0 at the start of the third period, but Justin Abdelkader scored in the first minute of the period to make it a one-goal game. The Red Wings needed nearly all of the third period to tie it, as Henrik Zetterberg delivered his first goal of the season with 16.4 seconds remaining in regulation. The tying goal came from a goalmouth scramble. With goaltender Jimmy Howard pulled for the extra attacker, the Red Wings peppered Ward with shots, first from Daniel Alfredsson, then Zetterberg. The Red Wings played the kind of game they wanted in the first period, outshooting Carolina 8-4, but the Hurricanes went to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead. Radek Dvorak, playing his first game with the Hurricanes, chipped the puck over the outstretched stick of Howard at 13:30. Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincy appeared in position to sweep away Jeff Skinner's headman pass, but the puck slipped past him, allowing Dvorak to drive to the net and score. Carolina extended the lead to 2-0 late in the second, when another newcomer, Nathan Gerbe, scored in the final seconds of a power play. Justin Faulk's shot from above the circles deflected off Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser and onto the waiting stick of Gerbe on the right side for a shot that beat Howard at 18:11. Abdelkader put his team back in the game when he took a cross-ice pass from Zetterberg that bounced off Faulk and ripped a shot past Ward 42 seconds into the period.
Calgary v Columbus 4-3 - Goals by Jiri Hudler and Curtis Glencross 42 seconds apart in the third period led the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win Friday, spoiling the season opener for the Columbus Blue Jackets before a sellout crowd of 18,151 at Nationwide Arena. Hudler took a center-ice pass from TJ Galiardi to score at 12:10 on a slap shot to break a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the season. The play started with a Columbus turnover and a quick transition through the neutral zone with Mikael Backlund connecting with Galiardi. Hudler gathered Galiardi's pass in full stride down the left side. As Hudler skated into the faceoff circle he unleashed a shot that went under the gloved left arm of Sergei Bobrovsky into the far netting. Glencross, a former Blue Jackets player, scored at 12:52, converting a goalmouth feed from David Jones that eluded several swipes by the Blue Jackets. Calgary needed the goal because Artem Anisimov drew one back at 15:47 by stuffing in a rebound off the end boards. Columbus pulled Bobrovsky for an extra attacker in the final 90 seconds but its rally was thwarted by an interference call to Jack Johnson with 1:09 to play, and the Flames won for their third time in the past four tries in Nationwide Arena. The Flames got first-period goals from Sean Monahan and Galiardi. Marian Gaborik and Johnson each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. Monahan, the 18-year-old No. 6 selection in the 2013 NHL Draft, scored at 2:27 for his first goal in his second game. He followed an assist in his debut Thursday in the 5-4 loss with a rebound from in front of the crease for a 1-0 advantage Friday after Bobrovsky made the initial save on Lee Stempniak. Columbus tied the score 2:30 later on the power play when Gaborik from the left circle found Johnson skating down the slot. Johnson went down on his left knee to fire the puck. Ryan Murray created the second goal for the Flames by making a blind pass at the attacking blue line. Galiardi intercepted it and broke free on Bobrovsky and beat him top shelf with a backhander at 7:56. Jenner started the game on the first line with Gaborik and Dubinsky but was soon replaced by former Flames player Blake Comeau, who had an assist on the second goal, which Gaborik scored at 15:20 from left of the net. Dubinsky was the set-up man; he rushed the net for a rebound and was able to knock the puck over to his linemate. Joey MacDonald started in goal for the Flames after Karri Ramo played in the opener. Ramo made 35 saves Thursday, when Calgary let leads of 3-0 and 4-1 get away. MacDonald had 29 saves; Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots. The Blue Jackets are 5-6-2 in season openers and 5-5-3 in home openers.
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