10.09.10 NHL Scoreboard - Recap - Boxscore - Highlights
Phoenix 5
Boston 2
The Phoenix Coyotes dominated the soft defense of the Boston Bruins in their first regular season game. Phoenix scored four unanswered goals through the first two periods of play before Nathan Horton scored two in the third for Boston's only two tallies. It was a great first game as a Bruin for Horton, but Radim Vrbata stole the spotlight with two goals and one assists. Matt Hunwick had a pretty horrid night as he was on the ice for three of the Coyotes' goals.
Columbus 3
San Jose 2OT
The Blue Jackets have split the series in Europe with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Sharks. Joe Thornton scored his 2nd goal in as many games, but it was the veteran newcome Ethan Moreau who netted the overtime winning goal. Mason got the call again as he stopped 33 of 35 shots, while Niittymaki made his Sharks debut and was only able to stop 22 of 25 shots faced. The Blue Jackets had a tough time staying out of the box taking 8 penalties, with 4 in the second period, and 3 in the third as Mason got the job done behind them.
New York Rangers 6
Buffalo 3
The Rangers absolutely destroyed Buffalo in their first game of the seas which saw the Sabres unveil their horrid alternate uniforms. Rookie center Derek Stepan looked absolutely marvelous potting the hat trick in his first game as an NHL player. Although small in stature, Stepan was everywhere in front of the net taking crisp passes and causing a problem in the crease. In addition to Stepan, his linemate Sean Avery was very instrumental in his performance as their line with Ruslan Fedotenko was the most exciting part of this game. Look for Vezina winning goalie Ryan Miller to rebound as his defense was just terrible. Buffalo's Jordan Leopold had two very nice goals off bombs from the point, which were the only high points of the night for the home team.
Ottawa 1
Toronto 5
You wouldn't believe Toronto was tabbed as a basement team with how thy performed on Saturday night. Phil Kessel, Kris Versteeg, and Clarke MacArthur each had a goal and an assist as J.S. Giguere was strong in the net with 17 saves for a .944 percentage. The score is not indicative of Ottawa goalie Pascal Leclaire's play, as he was hung out to dry a few times due to his scrambling defense. The biggest question coming into the season for Toronto was their second line of Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, and Clarke MacArthur. This line was very good and showed deft passing and cycle skills. Toronto appears to know how to use its weapons this season as their defense was very active and Tomas Kaberle is shooting the puck alot more.
Dallas 5SO
New York Islanders 4
The Islanders cant catch a break. John Tavares left the game in the first period and is said to have a mild concussion, taking a huge chunk out of their scoring corps. Despite his absence, the Islanders scored twice in the third period to erase a 4-2 deficit and force overtime. Healthy Isles captain Doug Weight had a goal and two assists while James Wisniewski had a goal and a helper as well as many big hits. Mike Ribeiro put on a passing clinic assisting on two Brendan Morrow goals with pretty passes. Ribeiro scored the lone shootout goal to win the game, giving Dallas the two point. Rick DiPietro looked like he hasn't lost much of a step since dealing with multiple knee injuries.
Montreal 3
Pittsburgh 2
Montreal goalie Carey Price was the story of this game as he was magnificent, making 36 saves for a .947 save percentage. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Eric Tangradi led the Penguins in shots but just couldn't make it happen as Price stood on his head on several occasions while Pittsburgh led the game in most statistical categories. Malkin scored on a pretty give-and-go from Crosby and Mark Letestu notched the second goal. Montreal got two goals from Michael Cammalleri and a heartbreaker from Scott Gomez with under two minutes left to play. Montreal fans have to be more than pleased as their franchise goaltender has responded very well to his lackluster beginning.
New Jersey 2
Washington 7
The Devils got off to an early start and closed the first frame with a 2-1 lead. After that point Martin Brodeur and company shut down, allowing four goals in the second period to go down 5-2, including an Alex Ovechkin penalty shot in which he swung out wide to the left and fooled Brodeur with a backhand draw only to fade to his forehand and put it over the glove. Johan Hedberg came out to start the third period in net for New Jersey but biffed on a passing attempt and shot it right into Brooks Laich who put it home for a shorthanded marker. Ovechkin came away with two goals and an assist while young defenceman John Carlson was good for a goal and two assists. Michal Neuvirth looked very good in net for the Caps making 31 saves for the win.
Atlanta 3
Tampa Bay 5
Tampa's starts were exactly that, stars. Martin St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, and Steve Downie put up numbers on the scoreboard for the lightning. The stars for the Thrashers couldn't do the same as Ben Eager, Tobias Enstrom, and Chris Thorburn scored for Atlanta. Chris Mason did what he could to keep the puck out of the net with 31saves but Tampa scored their goals on beautiful deflections and net front presence. Mike Smith put up a somewhat respectable .900 in his quest to remain injury free for Tampa Bay.
Philadelphia 1
St. Louis 2OT
Jaroslav Halak had a very impressive debut for the Blues with a .967 save percentage while his defensive corps played very well in front of him. Brad Boyes scored early for the Blues while Danny Briere had a third period tally to tie it. The Blues put forth a great deal of pressure in the overtime frame before Carlo Colaiacovo but home a rebound after Alex Steen had a coupe good individual efforts in a row to draw the defenders to him.
Anaheim 1
Nashville 4
The Ducks continued to look as if they were not poised while the Predators put it to them with a 4-1 drubbing. Saku Koivu scored the lone marker for the Ducks while Cam Fowler scored his first NHL point with an assist. In the second consecutive game, the loss was no fault of Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller as he faced a whopping 49 shots, stopping 45 of them. The Ducks were without Andy Sutton and it showed they will need to rethink their defensive approach if they wish to see some success. Pekka Rinne made 29 stops on 30 shots for the solid victory as Steve Sullivan, David Legwand, Patric Hornqvist, and Marcel Goc scored for the Preds. It's good for the music city that their top guys are getting it done.
Detroit 3
Chicago 2
The Blackhawks banner raising ceremony was done justice with the great action that was seen afterward. Each club had a goal a piece in the first two periods to keep the game even, but Detroit had the lone goal of the third period to put themselves ahead. Valtteri Filppula had an outstanding night with two goals, while linemate Todd Bertuzzi scored Detroit marker. Brent Seabrook and Bryan Bickell had tallies for the Hawks. Chris Osgood had a strong appearance as he made 26 saves for a .929 save percentage as Marty Turco wasn't as good with 23 saves for an .885 save percentage. It was somewhat visible that the Hawks had lost an element to their system with the loss of their gritty forwards in the offseason.
Los Angeles 2
Vancouver 1
The late game on Saturday was a goaltending showdown that saw Jonathan Quick and Roberto Luongo earn the first two stars of the game respectively. Christian Erhoff scored for the Canucks in the second period while Justin Williams scored for the Kings in the third, both goals coming on the power play. Both defensive units played very strong in what was an even game with the exception of Vancouver getting a few more shots on goal. Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson scored the only goals of the shootout with Johnson potting the winner. Luongo looked much more like his former self in his prime except for his small lapse in the shootout.
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