Results - Tue, October 08, 2013

Florida v Philadelphia 1-2 - Each goal was the result of a fortuitous bounce off the boards behind the Florida net, and neither will win any beauty prizes. But when you're 0-3-0, any little bit helps. Coburn's goal, which came 2:42 after Schenn opened the scoring 4:49 of the first period, came after Sean Couturier's long shot went wide of the net. Panthers goalie Tim Thomas went down awkwardly to defend the shot and struggled to regain his footing. When the puck rolled along the right wall to Coburn, the defenseman floated a shot on net that Thomas, stumbling through the crease, let get past him at 7:31. Brad Boyes scored for the Panthers, and though Florida outshot Philadelphia 34-30, the Panthers lost their second straight following a season-opening 4-2 win at the Dallas Stars. The Panthers lost 7-0 at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Jakub Voracek took advantage of a bad pass in the neutral zone by the Panthers' Tomas Fleischmann and carried the puck into the Florida zone. Voracek fired a shot that kicked off the boards behind the Florida net and caromed in front. Thomas tried to grab it but it bounced past him into slot, where Schenn knocked it in for his second goal of the season.

Tampa Bay v Buffalo 3-2 OT - Alex Killorn's backhander 1:50 into overtime gave the Lightning a 3-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, completing a 2-1-0 season-opening trip. Killorn picked up a whiff by Eric Brewer in the slot, swept to his right and lifted a backhander over Jhonas Enroth, who had dropped to the ice in anticipation of a shot by Brewer. He resisted the temptation to shoot right away and gave himself a better angle. Tampa Bay tied the game 2-2 at 5:43 of the third period after a controversial penalty against Buffalo's Thomas Vanek, who was called for high-sticking Matt Carle although television replays indicated that Carle was struck by his own stick. The call negated a goal that would have given the Sabres a 3-1 lead; instead, Teddy Purcell beat Enroth for a power-play goal that forced overtime. After a scoreless first period, Buffalo opened the scoring at 11:09 of the second when Cody Hodgson scored a power-play goal. Tyler Johnson tied it at 13:35 when he beat Enroth over the shoulder with a wrist shot. Brewer took a hooking penalty at 17:11 and the Sabres went ahead for the second time as Jamie McBain beat Ben Bishop for Buffalo's second power-play goal of the night.


Minnesota v Nashville 2-3 - Predators fans took delight in lustily booing Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, who played in Nashville before signing a 13-year, $98 million contract with Minnesota in July 2012, making the win even sweeter for the home crowd. Minnesota scored the game's first goal but gave up the equalizer on a 5-on-3 a little more than minute later and fell behind just 39 seconds after that while still down a man. The Predators never trailed after the 5:46 mark of the first period. The Predators scored three times in the first period. The first two goals came on power plays and the third on a penalty shot. The play that led to the penalty shot caused Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom to leave the game with an injury at 11:14 of the first period. Nashville forward Eric Nystrom got to a loose puck high in Minnesota's zone and outraced Wild defenseman Keith Ballard, who slashed Nystrom from behind. Nystrom was awarded a penalty shot but not before crashing into Backstrom, who appeared to strike his right leg hard against the goal post during the collision. Josh Harding entered the game cold, and Nystrom's wrist shot high to the blocker side on the ensuing penalty shot put Nashville ahead 3-1. Nashville struck quickly to take a 2-1 lead, capitalizing on a 5-on-3 situation. The Predators entered without a goal in seven chances on the power play in their first two games, but they made good on each of their first two opportunities Tuesday. Ten seconds after Zach Parise's third goal of the season at 4:05 of the first period (coming with Jones in the penalty box for high-sticking), Kyle Brodziak was called for interference. Wild center Mikko Koivu was sent off for tripping 21 seconds later. Forsberg scored his first NHL goal by picking up a loose puck inside the left faceoff circle and whipping the rebound just inside the near goal post at 5:07. Jones earned the secondary assist for his first NHL point. Colin Wilson skated in from the opposite circle 39 seconds later and roofed a wrist shot over Backstrom. Minnesota cut the score to 3-2 by converting its second of two power-play chances. With one second left on a hooking penalty to Forsberg, Jared Spurgeon took a cross-ice pass from Nino Niederreiter from deep in the corner and buried a high shot past Rinne from the right side at 7:26.



NY Rangers v San Jose 2-9 - Tomas Hertl became the youngest NHL player to score four goals in a game since March 20, 1988, when Jimmy Carson accomplished the feat with the Los Angeles Kings. Carson was 19 years, 254 days old when he scored four goals against Calgary. Hertl, who turns 20 on Nov. 12, scored four goals at the age of 19 years and 330 days. Hertl tied Owen Nolan's franchise record set on Dec. 19, 1995, in a 7-4 road win against the Anaheim Ducks. Hertl, who scored twice in San Jose's 4-1 win against the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday, scored twice during a four-goal second period and twice more in the third period, giving him a team-high six goals for the season. When Hertl scored his third goal, beating Martin Biron at 9:02 of the third on a power play, hats started flying out of the stands and onto the ice. Cameras cut to shots of his mother in the arena, in tears. But Hertl wasn't satisfied with a hat trick; at 12:05, he scored on a breakaway from close range, dropping the puck back between his legs and beating Martin Biron on the forehand for a highlight-reel goal. The Rangers, coming off a 3-1 road win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, took an early 1-0 lead on Brad Richards' power-play goal, but the Sharks scored the next six goals. After building a 2-1 lead in the first on goals by defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Dan Boyle, the Sharks blew the game open by scoring four times in the second period. Nieto, Hertl and Logan Couture scored in the span of 1:23 as the Sharks built a 5-1 lead with 10:21 left in the period. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, gave up San Jose's first four goals before being replaced by Biron at 9:19 of the second after Hertl's first goal, a blast from close range after a cross-ice pass from Andrew Desjardins. Couture knocked a rebound off the backboards out of the air and past Biron at 9:39 of the second to make it 5-1, and Hertl took a feed from Thornton and beat Biron on a breakaway at 12:32, putting the Sharks ahead 6-1.

The Rangers (1-2-0) played the second of back-to-back games and their third straight road game. They're on a nine-game road trip, the longest to start a season in franchise history and tied for the longest overall, while Madison Square Garden undergoes renovations. Hertl, with his mother and girlfriend from the Czech Republic in the stands, provided more than enough energy for the Sharks. Pavelski said Hertl's flamboyant fourth goal rubbed some Rangers the wrong way, but he had no problem with it. Neither did McLellan. Thirty-one seconds after Stuart's penalty, San Jose was penalized for having too many men on the ice, giving the Rangers a 5-on-3 advantage, and they quickly capitalized. With Ryan Callahan providing a screen, Richards fired a shot from the right circle that beat Niemi to the far side for his third goal in two nights, putting the Rangers ahead 1-0 at 3:27. The Sharks answered with Vlasic's shorthanded goal from the high slot at 4:23. Pavelski zipped him a pass from near the goal line, and Vlasic sent a shot through traffic and past Lundqvist, just inside the left post, for his first goal of the season. Boyle put the Sharks ahead 2-1 at 7:56. After Pavelski won a faceoff in the left circle, Nieto sent the puck cross-ice and off the right boards to Boyle, who spun and ripped a long slap shot that bounced off Rangers defenseman Marc Staal's leg and past Lundqvist. Nieto got his first career assist and point, while Pavelski got his second assist of the period. The Sharks took complete control in the second period, outshooting the Rangers 23-8. Nieto, 20, took a pass from Tommy Wingels in the low slot on a rush and scored on a wrist shot at 8:16. Sixty-three seconds later, Hertl scored from close range, and Couture scored 20 seconds later. Hertl scored his team-high fourth goal of the season at 12:32. Derek Dorsett cut San Jose's lead to 6-2 at 8:22 of the third, but Hertl scored back-to-back goals, and Justin Braun added a late power-play goal.