After watching goalie Ondrej Pavelec collapse to the ice in the opening minutes, the Atlanta Thrashers bounced back to beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in the NHL on Friday.
The excitement of opening night at Philips Arena turned somber just two-and-a-half minutes into the game when Pavelec suddenly fell over backward during a stoppage at the other end of the ice. He was treated for about 10 minutes on the ice before being wheeled off on a stretcher.
He was taken to a local hospital, where preliminary tests were negative and Pavelec regained consciousness.
After a overall delay of about 20 minutes, Chris Mason took over in the net for the Thrashers and surrendered a goal to Brooks Laich less than a minute later. The Thrashers scored three straight goals, with Evander Kane finishing with two, to give coach Craig Ramsay victory in his first game.
Devils 3 // Stars 4 OT
In Newark, Loui Eriksson scored two goals, including the winner 1:36 into overtime, for Dallas over New Jersey in the season opener for both teams.
Eriksson skated the length of the ice in overtime, beating Martin Brodeur from the right circle. Brenden Morrow and Brad Richards scored for Dallas. Travis Zajac, Zach Parise and Jason Arnott New Jersey's goals. Brodeur extended his own NHL record of consecutive season-opening starts by a goalie with one team to 16.
Senators 1 // Sabres 2
In Ottawa, Derek Roy scored his second goal of the game on a power play midway through the third period to send Buffalo past Ottawa in the season opener for both teams.
Ryan Miller stopped 25 shots for Buffalo, which took its second and final lead when Roy's shot from behind the goal line went in off goalie Pascal Leclaire's glove. Sabres rookie Tyler Ennis assisted on both goals. Chris Kelly scored the Senators' goal late in the second.
Ducks 0 // Red Wings 4
In Detroit, Mike Modano scored on his first shot with his hometown team 24 seconds after Johan Franzen's goal early in the first period, and Detroit went on to win the season opener for both teams.
Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary scored for the Red Wings in the second period. Modano, who signed with the Red Wings in August after Dallas decided it didn't want him for a 21st season, leads all US-born NHL players with 558 goals and 1,360 points.
Wild 1 // Hurricanes 2 SO
In Helsinki, rookie Jeff Skinner scored the only goal of the shootout as Carolina beat Minnesota for a sweep of the two season-opening games in Finland.
Skinner, an 18-year-old forward, set up Carolina's first goal from Tuomo Ruutu, tying the game two minutes into the second period. The Wild had opened the scoring 17 minutes into the first period through Andrew Brunette. Cam Ward made 41 saves for Carolina, stopping Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen in the shootout to preserve the victory.
Blue Jackets 2 // Sharks 3
In Stockholm, Logan Couture scored on a power play midway through the third period to lift San Jose over Columbus in the season opener for both teams.
San Jose's Torrey Mitchell opened the scoring 2:11 into the first period, and Joe Thornton made it 2-0 on a power play midway through the opening period. Columbus' Kristian Huselius, in front of his Swedish fans, and R.J. Umberger tied it with goals in a 15-second span late in the first period. San Jose's Antti Niemi, who helped lead Chicago to the Stanley Cup title last season, made 30 saves. Steve Mason stopped 25 shots for Columbus.
