Corey Perry and defenseman Sami Vatanen scored power-play goals in the first period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Friday for their seventh consecutive victory.
John Gibson, starting in net for the first time since losing 6-4 in his hometown of Pittsburgh on opening night, faced just 17 shots as the two-time defending Pacific Division champions improved to 7-1.
Last season, the Ducks also won seven straight after a season-opening loss at Colorado.
Scott Hartnell had a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves.
Perry, who got his second hat-trick of the season in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Buffalo, opened the scoring with a backhander from the edge of the crease just 1 minute, 28 seconds after the opening faceoff and 64 seconds after David Savard was sent off for hooking Jakob Silfverberg.
The 2011 MVP has nine goals in his first eight games in the fastest start in franchise history.
AVALANCHE 7, CANUCKS 3
In Denver, Jarome Iginla collected his first two goals for Colorado and had an assist in a win over Vancouver.
Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists and Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist for Colorado, who broke out of an offensive slump to earn its first home win of the season.
It was also the first win for goalie Semyon Varlamov, who returned from injured reserve to make 26 saves. Varlamov missed three games with a groin injury suffered in a morning skate last week.
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist for Vancouver. Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows also scored, and Eddie Lack stopped 41 shots.
OILERS 6, HURRICANES 3
In Edmonton, Canada, Jordan Eberle had two goals and an assist in Edmonton’s third consecutive victory.
Jesse Joensuu, Leon Draisaitl, Matt Hendricks and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers, who have rebounded from a difficult start to the season. Ben Scrivens finished with 30 saves.
Riley Nash, Jeff Skinner and Jay Harrison had Carolina’s goals. The Hurricanes are the only winless team in the NHL, off to a franchise-worst 0-5-2 start.
Edmonton grabbed control with four goals in the third.
LIGHTNING 4, JETS 2
In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jonathan Drouin, Vladislav Namestnikov and Ondrej Palat scored in the second period, leading the Lightning to the win.
Ben Bishop made 40 saves for Tampa Bay, which has won three of four on a five-game road trip that ends at Minnesota on Saturday night. Steven Stamkos scored in the first, and Nikita Kucherov finished with three assists.
Bryan Little scored Winnipeg’s first power-play goal of the season, and Blake Wheeler added his third goal in the third period.
STARS 3, DEVILS 2, SO
In Newark, New Jersey, Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn scored in a shootout as the Stars extended the Devils’ NHL record for shootout losses to 18 straight.
Kari Lehtonen had 25 saves for Dallas. It did not appear as if he had to stop any in the shootout, with Mike Cammalleri’s shot going over the net on the first attempt and Jaromir Jagr losing control of the puck on the second.
Spezza scored after Cammalleri missed with a dancing backhander in front. Benn beat Cory Schneider skating across the crease from right to left.
Benn scored for the fifth straight game and Patrick Eaves got Dallas’ other goal in regulation.
Eric Gelinas and Damien Brunner scored for New Jersey, which has lost four in a row. Schneider made 35 saves.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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