WASHINGTON | The Montreal Canadiens were leading by a goal late in the game, ready to pull off a road upset of the Washington Capitals. Then Maxim Lapierre got sent off for hooking with 1:52 left. The Capitals pulled their goalie for the final minute. Montreal goalie Carey Price lost his stick. And the Canadiens couldn’t clear the zone.
ST. LOUIS | Erik Johnson showed Thursday why the St. Louis Blues took him with the first pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft. Johnson, a defenseman, finished off the Phoenix Coyotes with an end-to-end rush that ended as Johnson fired a wrist shot past goalie Ilya Bryzgalov from the high slot 17 seconds into overtime for a 3-2 victory.
DETROIT | The Dallas Stars weren’t spectacular, just effective. Alex Auld made 31 saves, and Mike Ribeiro, Matt Niskanen and Loui Eriksson scored in Dallas’ 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
NEW YORK | Forward Brendan Shanahan is retiring from after 21 seasons and an almost certain Hall of Fame career. Shanahan, 40, announced Tuesday that he wouldn’t play again. After going through training camp with the New Jersey Devils, the team he spent his final season with, he and the club parted unexpectedly before opening night.
CHICAGO | A perfect homestand against the Western Conference elite reminded the Chicago Blackhawks just how good they are. “We feel we can win any night, against any team,” said Brent Seabrook, whose goal 41 seconds into overtime Sunday night lifted the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. “We have a great group ... and we want to prove that.”
OTTAWA | Coach John Tortorella started looking down his bench as the New York Rangers began going deeper and deeper into a shootout standoff. Fresh from the minors, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau was ready to step up. Parenteau scored the deciding goal in the seventh round of the shootout and gave New York a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
All it took was 3 seconds. The sellout crowd for the opening night of hockey at the immaculate new Independence Events Center was still settling into its seats when a fight broke out at the drop of the first puck.
RALEIGH, N.C. | New York Islanders winger Kyle Okposo was questionable before Friday’s game because of swine flu, but he felt just fine afterward. Okposo snapped a shot past Carolina Hurricanes goalie Manny Legace with 14.4 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Islanders a 4-3 victory.
PITTSBURGH | The New Jersey Devils closed within a victory of tying the NHL record of 10 consecutive road victories to start a season, beating the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Thursday night. Niclas Bergfors had a goal and two assists for the Devils. Zach Parise added a goal and an assist, Travis Zajac had three assists, and Martin Brodeur made 25 saves as New Jersey improved to 9-0 on the road.
They walked by “Wet Paint” signs and still could see and hear the last-minute hustle and bustle of workmen putting the finishing touches on the Kansas City area’s newest jewel of a sports facility. And as the Missouri Mavericks skated onto the ice of the Independence Events Center for the very first time for Thursday morning’s practice, they gawked and gushed at the plush, yet compact arena.
