Martin Brodeur withstood Evgeni Malkin's goal on debut to become only the third goaltender in NHL history to post 450 wins as the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Wednesday.
Malkin, one of the most awaited young players in recent seasons, was everything he was supposed to be despite missing nearly a month of play with a dislocated left shoulder.
The Russian center made exceptional passes, used his long reach to grab pucks and set up scoring chances. He also showed he could create scoring of his own by somehow finding a puck that Brodeur thought he had controlled and pushing it into the net at 18:38 of the second.
Capitals 5, Panthers 2
At Washington, Alexander Semin had a goal and an assist during Washington's five-goal first period, and the Capitals cruised past Florida.
The Capitals, who hadn't scored more than five goals in any of their first four games, tallied five in the opening 15 minutes against the Panthers. The last time Washington scored five goals in a period was in February 2003 in a 5-1 win at Atlanta.
Olie Kolzig had 34 saves, Jamie Heward and Matt Bradley scored unassisted goals and Richard Zednik had two assists for the Capitals.
Florida goaltender Alex Auld was removed at 12:36 after yielding four goals on 12 shots. Josef Stumpel and Nathan Horton scored power-play goals for the Panthers, who were 7-0-1 against the Capitals last season.
Predators 3, Rangers 0
At New York, Tomas Vokoun made 38 saves in his 17th NHL shutout, and Scott Nichol had a goal and assist for his first points of the season in surging Nashville's victory over New York.
Vokoun, who allowed 13 goals in Nashville's opening two losses, has starkly turned his early season around. He has been in the nets for each of the Predators' three straight victories and stopped 91 of 93 shots.
The Rangers outshot the Predators in every period but lost for the fourth time in five games.
Avalanche 4, Maple Leafs 1
At Toronto, John-Michael Liles scored twice to lead Colorado over Toronto.
Brett McLean and Milan Hejduk also scored for the Avalanche, who avoided a three-game losing streak.
Colorado plays in Ottawa on Thursday before goalie Jose Theodore, the 2002 NHL MVP, returns to Montreal on Saturday for the first time since being traded.
Backup Peter Budaj got the start against Toronto and finished with 27 saves.
Bates Battaglia scored for the Maple Leafs.
Blackhawks 2, Canadiens 1
At Chicago, Bryan Smolinski scored from the slot 2 minutes into the third to lift Chicago over Montreal.
Jeff Hamilton set up the play by forcing Montreal's Janne Niinimaa to turn over the puck.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two