NY Rangers @ Washington 2-0 - Through the New York Rangers' first five games of the season, it seemed they simply could not do anything right. They could not score, nor could they prevent opponents from doing so, problems exacerbated by adjusting to a new voice behind the bench and a weariness that comes from starting a season with nine games on the road. But on Wednesday, the Rangers finally resembled the industrious team they are known to be, outworking the Washington Capitals in a 2-0 victory at Verizon Center. Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season. Including the final two games of a seven-game Stanley Cup Playoff series last season, Lundqvist has stopped 84 consecutive Capitals shots, shutting them out in three straight games. New York's penalty kill set the tone Wednesday with early success. The Capitals' power play, which entered the game as the NHL's best (36.4 percent), was given 55 seconds of 5-on-3 time after Taylor Pyatt hooked Nicklas Backstrom with Anton Stralman already in the penalty box for hooking Troy Brouwer. But the Capitals could not take advantage; Alex Ovechkin broke his stick on an attempted one-timer and Joel Ward shot into the side of the net off a pass from Backstrom. Dating to last season, the Capitals are one for their past nine 5-on-3 opportunities, including 0-for-2 with 2:21 of total time this season. The Rangers entered as the League's weakest puck-possession team according to advanced metrics, but they dominated the second period, outshooting the Capitals 21-6, keeping the home team hemmed in its zone, and holding Washington without a shot on goal for the final 9:12. New York's hard work was rewarded at 12:05 when John Moore's shot from the high slot caught Washington goalie Braden Holtby flat-footed. Less than two minutes later, Ryan Callahan extended the lead to 2-0 on an impressive display of eye-hand coordination. The Rangers' captain dug out the puck along the boards, throwing it behind the net to Derick Brassard. Callahan immediately cut to the front of the net, where he was able to bat the puck, sent his way by Brad Richards, out of the air and past Holtby for his third goal of the season. The win snapped New York's three-game losing streak with three games left to go on its season-opening road trip, necessary due to the final phase of renovations at Madison Square Garden. For the Capitals, the same issues that have been affecting them all season, lackadaisical play in the neutral and defensive zones, especially, did so again.
Calgary @ Anaheim 2-3 - When Teemu Selanne eventually retires, the Calgary Flames might be among first in line to welcome him off the ice. Selanne was overdue for his first goal this season and it came in unorthodox fashion, but held up as the game-winner to help the Anaheim Ducks win their fifth straight in a 3-2 victory Wednesday night at Honda Center. After he retrieved a new stick from the bench, Selanne took a one-hand nudge pass from Jakob Silfverberg and beat Flames goalie Joey MacDonald (19 saves) five-hole for career goal No.676 in the second period. Anaheim (5-1-0) has won five of its first six games for the first time in franchise history. Fasth was needed to hold back a huge push in third by Calgary (3-1-2), which outshot the Ducks 17-4 and pulled to 3-2 on Jiri Hudler's goal but dropped its 17th straight game in Anaheim dating to the Flames' last win here on Jan.19, 2004. It was also their first regulation loss of the season. It wasn't all smooth for the Ducks, who saw their 30th-ranked power play drop to 1-for-23 on the season and played almost the entire third on their heels. Selanne, who has 82 points in 73 career games against Calgary, made it disappear, but admitted it's a sore point. On a night when the puck was bouncing like a rubber ball, Calgary not only nullified Tim Jackman's five-minute butt-ending penalty on Sami Vatanen, but scored shorthanded on it to close to 2-1. The puck rolled off Kyle Palmieri's stick at the left point and Lee Stempniak grabbed it and scored a breakaway goal that Fasth (33 saves) kicked across the goal line. A great play by Palmieri gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead in the first. Palmieri batted down Chris Butler's pass, kept it in at blue line and ripped a snap shot through a thicket of Flames at 15:04. It followed the good-start script for Anaheim, which has outscored opponents 10-6 in the opening period this season. Dustin Penner, in his first game back from a lower-body injury, helped the Ducks score first for the fourth time in six games with a clever flip pass to spring Ryan Getzlaf on the right side before Getzlaf returned the favor with a cross-ice feed that Penner one-timed at 4:27. Penner, who scored two goals in 33 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Kings last season, has two in four games with Anaheim. It was a night of too many early mistakes for Calgary. Rookie sensation Sean Monahan saw much of the Andrew Cogliano-Saku Koivu-Daniel Winnik line and did not record a shot on goal. Ben Street and Curtis Glencross were each a minus-3. Anaheim's 17-game winning streak is the longest home win streak against one opponent in franchise history. Selanne's goal was his 108th career game winner, one shy of Brendan Shanahan for fifth all-time.
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