Anze Kopitar recorded a third-period hat trick and the Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 3-1 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
With Los Angeles trailing 1-0, the 37-year-old Kopitar scored 13 seconds into the third period. Then, in the waning seconds of the Kings’ five-on-three power play, Kopitar scored from the low point with 1:38 left in regulation. The veteran added an empty-netter with 42 seconds remaining in the Kings’ triumphant season opener.
Meanwhile, Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves for Los Angeles, which was outshot 27-11 in the first two periods.
Alex Tuch had a goal and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 20 shots for Buffalo, which fell again after losing two versus the New Jersey Devils in Prague last week. The Sabres went 0-for-5 on the power play and have totaled three goals this season.
Blues 5, Sharks 4 (OT)
Brayden Schenn scored in overtime as visiting St. Louis rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit to edge San Jose.
Pavel Buchnevich, Radek Faksa, Ryan Suter and Justin Faulk also scored for the Blues. Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas each had two assists and Joel Hofer made 25 saves for the win.
First overall 2024 draft pick Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut for the Sharks. Tyler Toffoli also had a goal and an assist, Fabian Zetterlund and Barclay Goodrow also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves.
Utah 5, Islanders 4 (OT)
Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the game at 2:18 of overtime for the Utah Hockey Club, who edged the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y. The contest was the season opener for New York.
Guenther took a pass from Sean Durzi in the slot and sent a shot past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, who was screened by teammate Noah Dobson. It was Guenther’s second straight two-goal game, leading to a second straight win to start Utah’s inaugural season.
Maxim Tsyplakov, signed out of Russia’s KHL in May, scored with 2:07 left in regulation for a 4-3 New York lead and his first NHL goal.
Bruins 6, Canadiens 4
Boston turned around a 2-1 deficit with four consecutive goals and held on to defeat Montreal for the Bruins’ ninth consecutive home-opening victory.
Mark Kastelic scored his first pair as a Bruin, including a key insurance marker with four minutes remaining that halted a two-goal Montreal rally. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves in his first start since signing an eight-year, $66 million extension with the Bruins on Sunday.
Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Cole Caufield tallied a goal. Cayden Primeau (23 saves) lost his season debut.
Senators 3, Panthers 1
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves in his Ottawa debut, Tim Stutzle scored twice and the Senators defeated visiting Florida.
Shane Pinto also scored for the Senators. Ullmark, obtained in a June trade with the Boston Bruins, made 16 saves in the third period.
Gustav Forsling scored for the Panthers, who opened a four-game road trip. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Penguins 6, Red Wings 3
Anthony Beauvillier scored two goals to help lift Pittsburgh to a win at Detroit, spoiling the Red Wings’ season opener.
Marcus Pettersson and Erik Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who were coming off a season-opening 6-0 home loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Joel Blomqvist made 29 saves for the win.
Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist for Detroit. Ville Husso stopped 10 of 14 shots before he was replaced by Cam Talbot made 12 saves and yielded two goals.
Maple Leafs 4, Devils 2
Dennis Hildeby made 22 saves in his NHL debut and Toronto scored three times in the first period to beat New Jersey in Newark, N.J.
The result spoiled the home debut of Devils coach Sheldon Keefe, who was the Maple Leafs’ coach the previous four-plus seasons.
Jesper Bratt scored a power-play goal and Timo Meier also tallied for the Devils, who were denied their first 3-0-0 start since 2018-19. The Devils won their first two games in Prague over the Buffalo Sabres.
Stars 4, Predators 3
Mason Marchment scored twice to highlight Dallas’ four-goal second period, fueling the visiting Stars past Nashville in the season opener for both teams.
Roope Hintz scored a goal and set up linemate Jason Robertson’s tally 19 seconds later early in the second period. Logan Stankoven notched three assists and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves for the Stars.
The Predators’ Filip Forsberg scored a power-play goal in the second period to become the first player to record a point in nine straight season-opening games since Vancouver Canucks forwards Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin did so from 2008-09 to 2016-17.
Wild 3, Blue Jackets 2
Matt Boldy scored a goal and tallied two assists as Minnesota held on for a win over Columbus in Saint Paul, Minn., in the opener for both teams.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Wild, and Marcus Johansson had two assists. Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson turned aside 31 shots.
Kent Johnson notched a goal and an assist to lead the Blue Jackets, and Zach Werenski also scored. Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves on 26 shots. Before the game, the Wild paid tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, who were killed by an alleged drunk driver in August while they were on a bike ride in New Jersey.
–Field Level Media
