The Detroit Red Wings won the first NHL game at Little Caesars Arena, 5-1 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Frans Nielsen and Martin Frk each scored twice, and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings, who played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 through last season. Jimmy Howard made 19 saves. Austin Czarnik gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 14:29 into the first period before the Red Wings scored four goals in the second. Zane McIntyre allowed four goals on 24 shots. Malcolm Subban made three saves in the third period for Boston. Detroit's regular-season opener in its new home will take place Oct. 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
Williams scores for Hurricanes in win against Capitals
Justin Williams scored against his former team, helping the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Washington Capitals 4-1 at Capital One Arena. Williams, who left Washington to return to Carolina as a free agent this offseason, gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 10:52 into the first period. Alex Chiasson tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal with 3:01 remaining. Trevor Carrick (at 12:10 of the second period) and Julien Gauthier (at 2:35 of the third) gave the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead. Justin Faulk scored with 2:12 remaining. Cam Ward made 22 saves for Carolina. Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves on 21 shots in two periods for Washington. Pheonix Copley made nine saves in relief.
Kapanen helps Maple Leafs defeat Sabres
Kasperi Kapanen scored the game-winner on the power play 58 seconds into the third period, and had an assist, to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at KeyBank Center. Kapanen's goal gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead. He assisted on Nikita Soshnikov's empty-net goal with 1:10 remaining. James van Riemsdyk gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead 5:25 into the first period. Hudson Fasching tied it 1-1 at 16:21 of the second. Frederik Andersen played the first two periods and stopped 17 of 18 shots for the Maple Leafs. Kasimir Kaskisuo played the third period and made seven saves. Robin Lehner played the entire game for the Sabres and made 30 saves.
Stafford helps Devils defeat Rangers
Drew Stafford scored with 5:36 left in the third period to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center. Brandon Crawley scored a power-play goal for the Rangers to tie it 1-1 2:55 into the third. Joseph Blandisi gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 8:41 into the second period. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves playing two periods for New York. Brandon Halverson made eight saves in relief. Cory Schneider made 17 saves for New Jersey.
Anderson, Senators defeat Canadiens
Craig Anderson made 25 saves for the Ottawa Senators in a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Center. Logan Brown, Max Reinhart, Johnny Oduya and Mark Stone scored to give Ottawa a 4-0 lead 9:00 into the second period. Charles Hudon ended Anderson's shutout with a goal at 12:12 of the second. Brown scored with 1:00 remaining in the third. Al Montoya made 31 saves for Montreal.
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Lehtonen, Stars shut out Blues
Kari Lehtonen made 21 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 4-0 win against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. Dan Hamhuis, Jason Spezza, Remi Elie and Mattias Janmark scored for the Stars. Devin Shore had two assists. Jake Allen made 34 saves for the Blues. Hamhuis scored 2:09 into the game, and Spezza made it 2-0 at 15:12 of the first period, when the Stars outshot the Blues 16-8. Dallas had 30 shots on goal by the end of the second period. Elie (4:56) and Janmark (15:50) scored in the third.
Korpisalo of Blue Jackets makes 52 saves against Blackhawks
Joonas Korpisalo made 52 saves, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 at United Center. Lukas Sedlak (4:37) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (5:05) scored 28 seconds apart in the second period when the Blue Jackets took a 3-1 lead. Columbus took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Ryan Murray at 11:51 of the first period. Artem Anisimov tied it 1-1 at 16:50. Jonathan Toews scored on the power play with 1:21 left in the third period to make it 3-2. J-F Berube made 18 saves for the Blackhawks.
Malone, Puljujarvi help Oilers defeat Jets
Brad Malone and Jesse Puljujarvi each scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place. Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, and Jussi Jokinen also scored for Edmonton. Cam Talbot made 20 saves. Michael Spacek and JC Lipon scored for Winnipeg. Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves. Jokinen (8:28) and Malone (8:45) scored 17 seconds apart in the first period to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead after Spacek scored 4:51 into the game. Lipon tied it for the Jets with a power-play goal at 8:33 of the second period. McDavid gave the Oilers a 3-2 lead 2:21 into the third period before Puljujarvi scored a power-play goal at 7:03. Malone's second goal of the game made it 5-2 at 11:46 and Puljujarvi scored another power-play goal at 15:36.
Sharks defeat Coyotes in shootout
Tim Heed scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the San Jose Sharks a 5-4 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Logan Couture scored in the first round for the Sharks, and Max Domi tied it in the second round for the Coyotes. Nick Cousins scored 30 seconds into the game, and Derek Stepan (7:26) and Luke Schenn (9:15) also scored to give the Coyotes a 3-0 lead. Mikkel Boedker scored on the power play at 10:32 and again at 18:49 to make it 3-2. Cousins scored his second of the game at 1:38 of the second period for a 4-2 lead, but Barclay Goodrow made it 4-3 at 6:20 and Kevin Labanc tied it 4-4 at 7:44. Troy Grosenick made 24 saves for the Sharks. Antti Raanta stopped 28 of 32 shots in two periods for the Coyotes. Marek Langhamer made 12 saves in the third. Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson sustained a lower-body injury in overtime and did not return.
Dubnyk, Wild defeat Avalanche
Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. Minnesota took a 2-0 lead with power-play goals by Mikael Granlund 7:48 into the first period and Matt Dumba 2:27 into the second. Andrew Agozzino scored for Colorado to make it 2-1 at 4:39 of the second. Jonathan Bernier made 22 saves for the Avalanche, who were 0-for-8 on the power play.
Lead photo courtesy of Dave Reginek/Detroit Red Wings
