Welcome to SenShot’s NHL recap, as the name says we take a quick look at the goings-on from the previous night in the NHL. It was the first really busy night of the young season, so lets get to it!
Oct 3, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals right wing
Alex Ovechkin(8) skates with the puck as Calgary Flames defenseman
Mark Giordano(5) and Flames defenseman
T.J. Brodie(7) chase in the first period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
- Tuukka Rask made 32 saves to lead the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Lightning. Chris Kelly opened the scoring on a penalty shot midway through the first period. Valtteri Filppula evened the score with his first as a member of the Lightning midway through the second, but before the period was out, Milan Lucic had restored the Bruin lead. Patrice Bergeron scored a short handed marker four minutes into the third to cap the scoring. Anders Lindback got the nod over Ben Bishop to start the opener for the Bolts, and he stopped 22 of 25 shots in the loss.
- What goaltending issues in Pittsburgh? Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 27 shots he faced in backstopping the Penguins to a 3-0 win, spoiling Cory Schneider‘s debut in the New Jersey Devils’ net. Chuck Kobasew, Sidney Crosby and Craig Adams did the scoring for the Penguins.
- The Calgary Flames chased Braden Holtby from the Washington Capitals’ net with three first period goals, but it wasn’t enough, as the Flames fell 5-4 in the shootout. After David Jones, Lee Stempniak and Jiri Hudler had the Flames up after 20 minutes, Connor Carrick scored his first NHL goal to get the Caps back in it early in the 2nd. Lance Bouma restored the 3 goal cushion a couple of minutes later, but the Alex Ovechkin took over. The Russian sniper scored a power play goal, followed 4 minutes later by an even strength marker to get Washington within one after 40. Ovie then set up Nicklas Bacstrom’s tying goal late in the third that forced extra time. On to the shootout, Ovechkin sealed the deal after Mikhail Grabovski had scored and both Flames’ shooters missed. Ottawa 67 captain (for the moment) Sean Monahan had an assist on the first Flames’ goal and played almost 12 minutes in his NHL debut. Marcus Johansson had 3 assists for the Caps.
- The Los Angeles Kings’ Jeff Carter scored just over 13 minutes into the 3rd and had the shootout clincher to help his team get by the Minnesota Wild 3-2. Drew Doughty had the other LA goal in the first period, sandwiched between Wild goals from (Ottawa’s favorite) Matt Cooke and Jonas Brodin. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves in the LA net, then stopped both Wild shooters, while Niklas Backstrom only faced 18 shots through 65 minutes but couldn’t stop either Carter or Anze Kopitar in the skill competition.
- Jaroslav Halak got the call to start in the St. Louis net and the decision paid off as the Blues downed the Nashville Predators 4-2. Pekka Rinne didn’t get off to a great start to the season, allowing 3 goals on just 6 shots in less than 10 minutes before being replaced by Carter Hutton, who stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced. David Backes and Alex Steen each had a goal and an assist for the Blues while Vladimir Sobotka and TJ Oshie added singles. Alex Pietrangelo chipped in 2 assists in the win.
- The Flordia Panthers scored 3 unanswered in the third period to ruin Lindy Ruff‘s debut behind the Dallas Stars bench, making Tim Thomas a winner by a score of 4-2. Aleksander Barkov got the rally going with his first career goal, just past the midway point of the third to make it a 2-2 tie. Marcel Goc did the rest, scoring the winner with just under 5 minutes to go and then capping it off with the empty netter for good measure. Scott Gomez had given the Panthers a 1-0 lead late in the first, but Alex Chiasson and Brenden Dillon answered for Dallas. Thomas made 25 saves in his return to the NHL after a year away from hockey.
- Radim Vrbata had the natural hat trick to break open a 1-1 tie and give the Phoenix Coyotes a 4-1 win over the debuting Alain Vigneault and the New York Rangers. Kyle Chipchura had opened the scoring for the ‘Yotes early in the first, but Marc Staal tied it up early in the second before Vrbata took over. Mike Smith made 23 saves for the Phoenix win.
- Jason Garrison opened the scoring for the Vancouver Canucks on a mid-first period power play, but that was all the scoring Van City could muster as the Sharks continued their dominance over the Canucks. Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingels all scored even strength goals to hand the Canucks the 4-1 loss and making it a trio of debut coaching losses, as John Tortorella joined Ruff and Vigneault in that category. Logan Couture assisted on 2 of the San Jose markers.
That concludes our quick tour around the NHL. There are 6 more games on Friday night, including the Ottawa Senators finally making their first appearance of the season when they take on the Buffalo Sabres. Check back tomorrow for a recap of all the action.