Results - Thu, 03 Oct 2013

Tampa Bay v Boston 1-3 - Much of the disappointment from Milan Lucic's seven-goal regular season in 2013 was erased by his seven-goal output in 22 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Boston Bruins . But to fully prove that he's one of the League's premier power forwards, Lucic is going to have to score at last spring's pace during the 2013-14 regular season. Lucic started the new season on the right foot Thursday night by scoring the go-ahead goal with one minute remaining in the second period and the Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 at TD Garden in the season-opener for both teams. Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly also scored for the Bruins. Lucic's snap shot from the left hash mark that beat Tampa Bay goaltender Anders Lindback high to put Boston ahead 2-1 was the perfect example of a shot Lucic needed to take more of during his slump in 2013. Tuukka Rask, who was rewarded for his breakout season in 2013 with an eight-year, $7 million contract extension during the summer, picked up right where he left off last season. He stopped 32 of 33 shots. The Lightning, who were playing the first of their three-game season-opening road trip, got 22 saves from Lindback. Their task doesn't get any easier: After losing to the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Lightning visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. They might've escaped Boston with at least a point, if not two, in the standings had they performed better on the power play. Bergeron and Kelly's goals were shorthanded. The Lightning power went 0-for-5 and squandered 3:25 of 5-on-3 time. The Bruins got on the board first at 11:39 of the first period on Kelly's penalty shot, the first of his NHL career. He earned it when he stole the puck from Tampa Bay defenseman Mark Barberio at the red line and had a clear path to the net. Kelly's shot went wide, but he was hooked from behind by Barberio. Kelly put the Bruins in front by faking a wrist shot between the hash marks and then sliding a backhander behind an out-of-position Lindback. Tampa Bay had plenty of opportunities to get even. The Lightning couldn't solve Rask with 15 first-period shots, including several during their first 5-on-3 power play late in the first period. The two-man advantage carried over into the second period, but the Bruins continued to keep Tampa Bay off the board. Boston nearly doubled its lead at 2:06 of the second period, but Jordan Caron's goal off his own rebound in front was immediately waved off. That gave the Lightning the opening they needed to tie the game at 10:32 on free-agent signee Valtteri Filppula's first goal in a Tampa Bay uniform. Defenseman Eric Brewer started the play with an end-to-end rush, including a subtle move to slip a Daniel Paille hip check at the Boston blue line, before sliding the puck across the slot to Filppula, who put it into a half-empty net. The Bruins regained the lead on Lucic's goal and took a one-goal lead to the third period. After killing off more than a minute of another Tampa Bay 5-on-3 early in the third period, the Bruins extended their lead with a second shorthanded goal, this one while the Lightning had a 4-on-3 skating advantage. This time, Bergeron skated end to end and decided to keep the puck for a shot rather than feed defenseman Torey Krug on a 2-on-1. With Krug driving the net, Bergeron cut to the middle and snapped a shot off Lindback's shoulder and in at 4:02.

Calgary v Washington 4-5 - As the Washington Capitals ascended into the NHL's elite during the past six seasons, they made their reputation with a lethal power play and a penchant for comebacks. Even though the Capitals have established themselves as a perennial Stanley Cup Playoff team, the showed Thursday they haven't forgotten their roots. Down 3-0 after one period against the Calgary Flames, Washington erased that lead with power-play goals from Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the team's fourth and fifth through two games, and the Capitals rallied to earn their first win of the season, 5-4 in a shootout. In their home opener, the Capitals dictated the pace early, but it was the Flames who scored three first-period goals. David Jones caught defenseman Jack Hillen flat-footed along the blue line and drove past him before snapping a short-side top-shelf shot over Braden Holtby's left shoulder at 5:18. Lee Stempniak extended Calgary's lead to 2-0 just under five minutes later when he corralled a Mark Giordano rebound in front and slid it past Holtby. With the Flames on the power play, Jiri Hudler gave them a three-goal lead at 16:22 with a shot from the right point. It was the 11th and final shot Holtby faced. Michal Neuvirth came on in relief. Holtby has allowed eight goals on 45 shots through two starts this season, but coach Adam Oates did not place any blame on the 24-year-old, already informing him he will start Washington's next game, Saturday against the Dallas Stars. Washington inched closer in a back-and-forth second period. Rookie defenseman Connor Carrick, just released from the penalty box after serving a hooking call, received a pass from Marcus Johansson and broke in alone on Karri Ramo, making his first NHL start in more than three years. Carrick deked to his backhand and beat Ramo on his forehand for his first NHL goal and a 3-1 score. Lance Bouma restored the Flames' three-goal lead less than two minutes later. Neuvirth misplayed the puck behind the net, and Brian McGrattan was able to send a pass to Bouma in the slot before Neuvirth could intervene. Washington responded on the power play at 11:24 when Ovechkin one-timed a pass from Mike Green past Ramo from his usual spot on the left faceoff dot for his second goal of the season. Ovechkin scored his second of the night at 15:25 on a slap shot on a set play off a faceoff from Johansson and Backstrom. Two successful penalty kills early in the third period, including a 47-second two-man advantage, kept the Capitals within striking distance, and when they finally got their chances on the power play, they took advantage with Backstrom's game-tying goal at 14:10. Mikhail Grabovski was able to fish the puck out of a scramble in the slot and thread a pass to Backstrom. Grabovski and Ovechkin scored in the shootout. Neuvirth stymied Sven Baertschi and Hudler. The Capitals lost Hillen to an apparent right-leg injury midway through the first period when he awkwardly absorbed a check along the boards from Bouma.


Los Angeles v Minnesota 3-2 - The Los Angeles Kings have a pretty good goaltender in Jonathan Quick. But it's got to be good to know they have a quality guy waiting in the wings just in case in the form of forward Trevor Lewis. With 53 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied 2-2, the puck squirted free to Wild forward Matt Cooke in front of the Kings net. Quick was out of position, but Lewis, playing without a stick, made a sprawling stop on Cooke, allowing the Kings to get to overtime and ultimately win the game 3-2 in a shootout. Had Cooke been able to capitalize, it would have marked a two-goal debut for the one-time Wild nemesis, who was playing in his first game with Minnesota after spending much of his career with the Vancouver Canucks. Cooke signed with Minnesota during the summer after several years with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The loss marked the first defeat for the Wild in a home opener. Minnesota had won 11 in a row after tying the Philadelphia Flyers 3-3 in the first home game in franchise history. The Kings trailed 2-1 with less than seven minutes to play in regulation before tying the game on a goal by Jeff Carter, who flipped a backhanded rebound into the net after Niklas Backstrom had stopped an initial shot by Matt Frattin. Carter struck again in the shootout, ending the game by scoring Los Angeles' second goal after Quick had shut down the Wild's Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu. In between, Kopitar scored in the first round of the shootout for L.A. The late goal by Carter saved the Kings after a lethargic second period left the visitors down 2-1 after 40 minutes. Quick's heroics were the only reason the Kings still had a chance to win; he stopped all 13 shots he faced in the middle period, when L.A. managed only three, and finished with 27 saves. The Wild scored 1:04 into the game when Kyle Brodziak's centering feed deflected off Cooke's skate in front and went past Quick. The goal was reviewed in Toronto and eventually upheld, much to the chagrin of Sutter. Los Angeles evened the score six minutes later on its first power play of the season when defenseman Drew Doughty one-timed a blast from the point through a screen and past Backstrom. Minnesota took advantage of a power play of its own at 17:12 as Jonas Brodin one-timed a brilliant backhanded pass from the corner by Nino Niederreiter top-shelf past Quick. Niederreiter, an offseason acquisition from the New York Islanders who was also playing in his first game for the Wild, picked himself off the ice, dug out a loose puck and fed a pinching Brodin in the slot. Wild coach Mike Yeo said Quick was one of the main reasons why his team seemed to get away from the style of play that enabled Minnesota to dominate the first 40 minutes. After a scoreless overtime, Kopitar and Carter beat Backstrom to the stick side in the shootout. Parise saw the puck slide off his stick, and Quick poke-checked Koivu's attempt. Backstrom is now 21-33 all-time in shootouts, and his .556 save percentage is the lowest among the 24 goaltenders who've faced 100 or more attempts. Backstrom, who was re-signed to a three-year contract this summer, stopped 16 of 18 shots in regulation and overtime.
 


Nashville v St Louis 2-4 - The St. Louis Blues were unquestionably ready to play right from the start on opening night. David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka and T.J. Oshie scored before the game was 10 minutes old as St. Louis chased Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne in a 4-2 season-opening victory Thursday night at Scottrade Center. Alexander Steen and Backes each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a pair of assists. Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots to improve to 9-3-3 lifetime against the Predators. Nashville, which was able to slice the Blues' three-goal lead to 3-2 after pulling Rinne for Carter Hutton, got goals from Mike Fisher and David Legwand. After pregame festivities that saw Hall of Famer Brett Hull drop the ceremonial first puck, the Blues scored three goals on six shots in a 7:40 span before coach Barry Trotz pulled Rinne. Backes got it started with a power-play goal, picking up Pietrangelo's shot from the point after Patrik Berglund won the offensive-zone faceoff following a tripping penalty to Matt Cullen. He whirled and slid the puck into the open net three seconds into the power play and 2:05 into the game. Sobotka's excellent individual effort in fighting off Kevin Klein after taking an outlet pass from Jay Bouwmeester put the Blues up 2-0. He outwaited Rinne and lifted a backhander into the net at 5:43. The Predators had a lengthy shift in the Blues' zone with nothing to show for it, and the Blues cashed in soon after when Oshie cashed in another backhander off passes from Backes and Steen at 9:45, sending Rinne to the bench. Trotz didn't feel like his team was being obliterated on the ice and was testy with a question about the Blues' early "blitz." Fisher got the Predators on the board at 10:42 when Nick Spaling won a puck battle with Chris Stewart behind the net and fed him in the right circle for a one-timer past Halak. Legwand cut the Blues' lead to one at 3-2 when he gave Patric Hornqvist the puck, got it back in the slot and redirected the pass upstairs past Halak at 5:09 of the second. The goal came right after Oshie rang a shot off the post that could have given the Blues a 4-1 lead. The Blues used another power-play goal to restore their two-goal lead. Steen used Stewart as a screen and beat Hutton at 11:16 when his shot from the blue line trickled into the net. Offseason acquisition Derek Roy won the faceoff that started the play to earn an assist, his first point with his new team. The difference in the game was special teams. The Blues scored on their first two power play chances and finished 2-for-4. St. Louis' penalty kill thwarted all four Nashville advantages. And when the Blues needed Halak, he was up to the task. It was Halak's first win since March 23, 2013, a 19-save shutout on the road against the Edmonton Oilers.