Moscow 4, London 0
Moscow is off and running in the new season with an impressive performance at home, shutting out the London Dons 4-0. Nine Spartak players got on the scoresheet, with Benoit Pouliot leading everyone with 2 points, both assists. Moscow outshot London by a hefty margin, 39-24 and Jaro Halak stopped all 24 London shots. Anze Kopitar and Rich Peverley, who played in Bern last season, had 7 and 6 shots respectively.
Bern 5, Oslo 4
A battle of two four-letter words got nasty as both Bern and Oslo opened their seasons. The teams combined for 18 penalties including a checking from behind major, an unnecessary roughness and an unsportsmanlike conduct. One might be able to see why the Outlaws could be in a foul mood. Mired in financial woes from the previous administration, the team played without suspended star Shea Weber. Oslo has made it clear they are in salary-reduction mode and there are rumors players like Thomas Vanek, Mark Girodano and possibly others are being actively shopped around the league for less-expensive alternatives. In the game, a Radim Vrbata power play goal was the difference in a game that saw nine different players score goals.
Dublin 2, Munich 1 (overtime)
Nick Schultz blasted a shot from about 5 feet inside the blueline to beat Munich goalie Jonathan Quick and give the Fighting Irish a win. Quick stopped 33 of 34 shots in regulation time and if not for a shorthanded goal by Zbynek Michalek in the third period, he would have had a shutout. Patrik Elias opened the scoring for the Fox in the first period. Evander Kane and Bobby Ryan had 7 and 6 shots on goal respectively for the Irish.
Gothenburg 5, Belfast 4
Sporting their new white and blue Devils unis, Gothenburg scored four times in the game’s opening 13 and a half minutes and held off a Belfast rally in Northern Ireland. Milan Lucic scored the game’s first two goals. Cal Clutterbuck’s third-period goal turned out to be the game winner. Matt Frattin scored two for Belfast and Sidney Crosby had two assists. Devil defenseman Dan Girardi was a plus 2 and he was credited with 5 hits.
Minsk 3, Copenhagen 2
What a difference an off season makes. Not many had Minsk winning in Copenhagen as the two teams started their campaigns, but Carey Price had faith. And reflexes. He stopped 44 of 46 Trident shots to be named the game’s first star. Patric Hornquist, Patrik Berglund and Brayden Schenn scored for Minsk, while Troy Brouwer and Kevin Shattenkirk tallied for Copenhagen. Minsk rookie Maxim Chudinov had a pair of assists and was a plus 2. Another rookie, 21-year-old, Austrian-born Thomas Powell, had an assist but he also goes down as the first injured player of the season. He was rammed into the boards by Andrej Meszaros and seemed to suffer a shoulder injury.
Helsinki 6, Edinburgh 3
On 12/12/12, Henrik Lundquist came to Helsinki in a trade that sent Ilya Bryzgalov, John Tavares, a second round pick (Jakub Kovar) and $5 million to Edinburgh. On opening day, three of those components were very noticeable – for different reasons. Lundquist and his Jokerit teammates won the game, Tavares scored twice on him, and Bryzgalov didn’t seem sure these games started counting. He gave up 6 goals before being pulled late in the contest. Jarret Stoll led the way for Helsinki with 2 goals and an assist. Danius Zubrus had a goal and two assists. Stoll, Zubrus and Brad Marchand were plus 3 as a forward line. Jack Johnson didn’t earn one of the three stars, but he played a whale of a game for Helsinki. He was credited with 7 hits and 3 blocked shots.
