On a busy Thursday, Eric Staal’s hat trick put the Carolina Hurricanes into the win column for the first time this season as they beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 last night in Raleigh. He scored once in the second and put up both Carolina goals in the third. His brother, Jordan, added a pair of assists in the win. Jason Pominville potted a pair in the loss.
That was part of a wild night of offense, collapses and last-minute heroics. Let’s hit the ice and get you caught up to speed.
The Islanders scored a touchdown and knocked off Toronto 7-4. Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson each scored a pair for the Isles while Maple Leafs’ newcomer Matt Frattin had a goal and two assists in his season debut.
The Flyers got their first win of the season, slipping past the Rangers 2-1. Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist in the win for Philly. Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 18 shots for the win.
Montreal kept Washington winless as the Canadiens knocked off the Caps 4-1. The Habs scored three goals in five minutes in the second period to give themselves all the offense they need. Andrei Markov had a goal and an assist on the power play for Montreal.
Craig Anderson continues to shine in goal for Ottawa. He stopped 25 of 26 shots and kept Ottawa undefeated with a 3-1 win over Florida. Anderson has allowed just two goals in three starts and is not surprisingly 3-0.
The results from the Western Conference were bizarre.
St. Louis blanked Nashville 3-0 in a game that saw the Predators put up a meager 13 shots on goal. Jaroslav Halak got the easy shutout and Patrik Berglund led the way with a goal and an assist for the Blues.
Marian Hossa’s power play goal 1:41 into OT gave Chicago a 3-2 win and a 4-0 start away from the United Center. Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists to keep the ‘Hawks perfect. Chicago went 3-of-7 on the power play.
Semyon Varlamov made a 33-save shutout as Colorado blanked Columbus 4-0. Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk and PA Parenteau each had two point nights in the win.
Phoenix was up 3-1 with 12 minutes left in the third period and gagged as they lost 5-3 to San Jose. Patrick Marleau registered his third straight game with two goals. Joe Thornton picked up a goal and three assists for San Jose.
The Kings-Oilers game had the most shocking finish of the night. Los Angeles was up 1-0 on Jeff Carter’s second-period goal and looked to have the shutout in the bag. Instead, Neil Yakupov scored with five seconds left in the game to force overtime. Three minutes later, Sam Gagner scored on the power play to give Edmonton a shocking 2-1 win over the Kings. Los Angeles is 0-2-1 and heads to slumping Phoenix Saturday night in search of its first win of the year.
Multiple Goal Scorers
E. Staal-CAR HAT TRICK
Grabner-NYI, Moulson-NYI, Marleau-SJ, Duchene-COL
Three Stars of the Night
1. Eric Staal-CAR Hat trick in the win
2. Marleau-SJ Third straight game with two goals
3. Yakupov-EDM Last-second goal to force OT
Stat of the Night I
Each day of the first week of the season has seen more than one player score at least twice in a game.
Stat of the Night II
Phoenix was 33-1-0 when leading after two periods last season and is 0-1 so far in that situation this season
Friday’s Schedule (all times ET)
NY Islanders at Boston 7pm One of these teams will get its third win of the season.
Carolina at Buffalo 7pm Will the Sabres rebound in the back end of a home-and-home?
Washington at New Jersey 7pm Ovechkin and company need a win to avoid an 0-4 start.
Ottawa at Tampa Bay 730pm A hot goaltender takes on a hot offense–which one blinks?
Minnesota at Detroit 730pm Who gets the W: The Wild or the Wings?
Pittsburgh at Winnipeg 8pm Malkin and Crosby make their farthest west trip this season.
Vancouver at Anaheim 10pm A rematch of the season opener, won 7-3 by the Ducks.
