Wednesday National Hockey League Capsules.

October 2, 2008

Wednesday National Hockey League Capsules.
VANCOUVER 6, CALGARY 1

VANCOUVER, British Columbia Roberto Luongo got more than enough support in his first game as the teams captain.

Jannik Hansen scored two goals and Luongo was strong in goal as the Vancouver Canucks used an offensive outburst to top the Calgary Flames, 6-1, in a preseason game.

Looking to fill a void created in the offseason when Markus Naslund departed for the New York Rangers, the Canucks turned to Luongo to serve as captain, making him the first NHL goaltender to receive the honor in 61 years.

The Montreal native performed well in his first game with the new role, turning away 35 shots. He received all the help he needed in the early going.

After defenseman Alexander Edler opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, Hansen beat netminder Miikka Kiprusoff with a wrist shot 4:16 later for a 2-0 lead.

Defenseman Robyn Regehr halved the deficit nearly five minutes into the second period, but Pavol Demitra responded with a power-play goal at 9:15 and blue-liner Lawrence Nycholat tallied with 4:24 left in the session to give Vancouver a 4-1 bulge.

Hansen netted his second of the night at 4:58 of the third, and Mason Raymond capped the scoring less than five minutes later.

Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows each recorded three assists for the Canucks, who were outshot, 36-23.

Kiprusoff, who went 39-26-10 with a 2.69 goals against average in 78 games last season, stopped 17 shots.

MONTREAL 3, BOSTON 1

MONTREAL The Montreal Canadiens scored power-play goals on their first two shots of the second period en route to a 3-1 preseason victory over the Boston Bruins.

Defenseman Patrice Brisebois scored a goal and set up another as the Canadiens improved to 6-2-0 this preseason.

Montreal carried a 5-on-3 advantage into the second period, and Alexei Kovalev wasted little time capitalizing, driving a 38-foot slap shot past goaltender Manny Fernandez just 26 seconds into the session to snap a scoreless tie.

Brisebois assisted on Kovalevs goal and added his own 42 seconds later, burying a wrist shot for a two-goal cushion. Guillaume Latendresse netted a man-advantage tally with 8:35 to go in the period to make it 3-0.

The Canadiens finished 3-for-6 on the power play.

Montreals Jaroslav Halak, entering his second NHL season after being selected in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, stopped 33 of 34 shots. Fernandez posted 25 saves for Boston.

The Bruins finally got on the board 8:29 into the third period, as defenseman Zdeno Chara scored on a wrister from close range. The 6-9 captain was making his preseason debut.

ST. LOUIS 7, TORONTO 3

ST. LOUIS Lee Stempniak scored two goals as the St. Louis Blues got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 7-3 preseason victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stempniak scored his first goal with just under nine minutes left in the first period to give the Blues a 3-0 lead. He added his second tally 1:56 into the middle session to extend the advantage to 6-1.

Stempniaks first tally was a hustle goal, as he caused a turnover that led to a shot on goal by Andy McDonald. Stempniak went hard to the goal and knocked in the rebound.

Yan Stastny got the onslaught started 11 seconds into the game, and by the time the first period was over, five different players had scored to give St. Louis a 5-1 bulge.

Brad Boyes, T.J. Oshie and McDonald added first-period tallies for St. Louis. David Perron added the only power-play goal of the game with 30 seconds remaining in the third.

Stempniak, Boyes and Perron now have five goals this preseason, while McDonald added two assists to raise his points total to 11 in four games.

Mikhail Grabovski, defenseman Anton Stralman and Niklas Hagman scored for Toronto.

It was a rough night for veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph, who faced 12 shots but turned aside only six in 22 minutes. Justin Pogge came on and made 13 saves, allowing only Perrons late tally.

Chris Mason stopped 21 shots for the Blues.

PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 1

PHILADELPHIA Joffrey Lupul had a goal and an assist and Martin Biron won for the fourth time in as many preseason games as the Philadelphia Flyers recorded a 2-1 triumph over the Washington Capitals in a rematch of last seasons Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup.

Glen Metropolit also tallied and Biron finished with 19 saves for Philadelphia, which improved to 4-2-0 in the preseason.

Nicklas Backstrom scored his first goal of the preseason and Brent Johnson made 22 saves for Washington, which fell to 4-1-0.

Signed in the offseason to a two-year contract, Metropolit opened the scoring 6:48 into the second period, when he accepted a centering feed from Lupul and wristed a shot past Johnson.

The Flyers doubled their advantage just 2:19 into the third period on the power play.

Defenseman Braydon Coburn fired a cross-ice pass to Steve Eminger, and the former Capitals blue-liner faked a shot before dishing to Lupul in the right faceoff circle. The 25-year-old Lupul quickly wristed a shot past Johnson for his third goal of the preseason.

Backstrom halved the deficit with 5:41 remaining as his sharp-angle shot caromed off Birons pads and into the net.

NEW JERSEY 3, NY ISLANDERS 0

UNIONDALE, New York Patrik Elias scored a goal and set up another, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders in preseason action.

Zach Parise and defenseman Anssi Salmela also scored and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur stopped all 17 shots he faced for New Jersey.

Parise opened the scoring with 5:36 left in the first, when he collected a loose puck and skated past defenseman Jack Hillen before backhanding a shot past Joey MacDonald for his fourth goal of the preseason. MacDonald was starting for Rick DiPietro, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Elias doubled the lead 5:21 into the second period with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle that beat MacDonald to the stick side. Salmela capped the scoring with 5:57 left, when he took a feed from Elias and blasted a slap shot past the netminder from the high slot.

MacDonald stopped 19 shots for New York, which was outshot, 10-4, in the first period.

DETROIT 4, ATLANTA 1

ATLANTA Mikael Samuelsson scored twice with the man advantage and 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg added a goal and two assists to lead the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings to a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers in a preseason matchup.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom returned to the ice for the first time since breaking his nose in the preseason opener against the Montreal Canadiens and dished out two assists for Detroit, which improved to 3-1-2 in the preseason.

The Red Wings, who finished third in the league last season on the power play, wasted no time capitalizing with the man advantage in this one as Samuelsson blasted a slap shot from the right faceoff circle past goaltender Kari Lehtonen just 1:45 into the first period.

The 31-year-old right wing also converted on the power play at 8:10 of the second period, blasting a shot from above the right circle over the shoulder of Lehtonen to give Detroit a 3-1 lead.

Zetterberg netted the Red Wings second goal, snapping a 1-1 tie by stealing Lehtonens pass from behind the net and burying it with 5:19 remaining in the first. Johan Franzen added an empty-net goal with 70 seconds left in the third.

Chris Osgood turned aside 25 shots for Detroit, which has three games remaining on its preseason slate. Former Thrasher Marian Hossa did not make the trip to Atlanta.

Erik Christensen scored the Thrashers lone goal, beating Osgood with a deke before depositing the puck in the net on the backhand at 9:59 of the first.

Lehtonen stopped 32 shots for Atlanta, which failed to record a victory in new coach John Andersons debut at Philips Arena.

MINNESOTA 3, BUFFALO 2

ST. PAUL, Minnesota Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan and defenseman Brent Burns scored first-period goals to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 preseason triumph over the Buffalo Sabres.

Miettinens even-strength goal 5:23 into the first got the Wild on the scoreboard, while Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Eric Belanger set up Nolans power-play tally 7:11 later. Burns scored a shorthanded goal less than two minutes afterward to help Minnesota improve to 4-1-0 in preseason action.

Goaltender Josh Harding evened his preseason record at 1-1-0 but left the game at 7:38 of the third period after teammate Martin Skoula hit him in the face with his stick while fighting for a puck in front of the net. Harding exited the game after stopping 25 of 26 shots.

Buffalos Daniel Paille scored 5:36 into the second and defenseman Andrej Sekera notched a power-play goal against Niklas Backstrom with one second left in the game.

The Wilds scoring balance was a welcome sign for a club trying to replace Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston and Mark Parrish, who were three of their top five goal-scorers in 2007-08.

Burns and Bouchard both returned from injuries to play for the first time this preseason.

Ryan Miller, who started a career-high 75 games for the Sabres last season, turned away 21 shots.

COLORADO 3, DALLAS 1

DENVER Ryan Smyth recorded his team-leading fourth goal of the preseason and Peter Budaj finished with 29 saves to give the Colorado Avalanche their third consecutive victory with a 3-1 triumph over the Dallas Stars.

T.J. Hensick had a goal and an assist and David Jones also tallied for Colorado, which defeated Dallas for the second time in six days and improved to 3-0-1 in the preseason.

Smyths power-play goal snapped a scoreless tie with 82 seconds remaining in the second period after a give-and-go with teammate Paul Stastny. Smyth fed Stastny, who was just to the right goaltender Matt Climie. Stastny put the puck perfectly back on Smyths stick, and he one-timed it into the open net for a 1-0 lead.

The Avalanche doubled their advantage 2:39 into the third period after Jones skated into the offensive zone and backhanded the puck past Climie for his first goal of the preseason.

Steve Ott halved the deficit for the Stars just 4:56 into the third period, but Hensick regained the two-goal advantage for the Avalanche after cleaning up a rebound and slipping it past Climie.

Defenseman Matt Niskanen and Brad Richards set up the lone goal for Dallas, which fell to 1-4 in the preseason.

ANAHEIM 3, LOS ANGELES 2 (OT)

ANAHEIM, California Defenseman Chris Pronger recorded his second goal of the game 3:04 into overtime to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 preseason triumph over the Los Angeles Kings.

Chris Kunitz also scored and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 26 saves for Anaheim, which improved to 4-1-1 in the preseason.

Michal Handzus and Brian Boyle each netted power-play goals in the second period and Erik Ersberg turned aside 28 shots for the Kings, whose last three games have gone beyond regulation and ended in defeat.

After Los Angeles turned over the puck in the offensive zone, Pronger accepted a feed from Teemu Selanne and backhanded a shot past Ersberg for the game-winner.

Both teams relied on their power play in the second period.

Handzus scored after a scramble in front of the net 7:31 into the session, and Boyle gave the Kings a 2-1 lead just 2:20 later by redirecting defenseman Tom Preissings shot past Giguere.

The Ducks have struggled while shorthanded, allowing nine power-play goals in 32 opportunities this preseason.

Kunitz leveled the contest with 6:20 remaining in the second period, accepting a feed from Brendan Morrison and slipping the puck past Ersberg.

Morrison, who spent eight seasons with Vancouver, made his debut with Anaheim. He missed the last half of the 2007-08 season with wrist and knee injuries.

NY RANGERS 4, MAGNITOGORSK 3

BERN, Switzerland The New York Rangers rallied for a 4-3 victory over Metallburg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League in their preseason finale.

Dan Fritsche, Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan scored in the third period for the Rangers, who erased a 3-0 deficit late in the second. Callahan tallied the game-winner with 20 seconds remaining.

The Rangers, who concluded their exhibition slate with a 3-5 record, open the regular season this weekend with a pair of games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague.

The game marked the first time an NHL team faced a Russian club outside of North America.