Paul Kariya scored two goals as the St Louis Blues rallied from two goals down to edge the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in their opening game of the NHL regular season in Sweden on Friday.
St Louis turned it around by scoring three straight goals within a span of 5 minutes, 5 seconds in the second period.
The comeback started at 12:31 when Paul Kariya netted the first of his two goals on the power play, beating goalie Chris Osgood with a shot from the point.
The veteran forward scored again at 17:36 to clinch the win, beating Osgood with a shot to the stick side after skating in all alone.
B.J. Crombeen tied the score 3-3 at 14:39 when he knocked in a rebound.
The third period was scoreless.
The Blues’ win spoiled the homecoming of seven Swedes on the Detroit team.
Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, a six-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman who hails from a city near Stockholm, had a disappointing outing and finished without points.
After a slow start, the Blues took the lead 7:54 in the opening period when Jay McClement one-timed a shot from just outside the crease.
Jonathan Ericsson, one of Detroit’s eight Swedes, tied it less than three minutes later off a rebound after Kirk Maltby skated in quickly.
Maltby put Detroit ahead 2-1 with a short-handed goal at 14:01 after a solo breakaway, beating goalie Chris Mason with a shot high to the glove side.
Ville Leino made it 3-1 for Detroit with a power play goal at 7:17 in the second period. Unchecked, the Finnish forward sent a shot from the right circle past Mason’s glove side.
For the Red Wings, it was almost like home. There were red jerseys all over the building.
Detroit was listed as the home team and the pro-Detroit sellout crowd of 13,850 at Ericsson Globe arena gave the Red Wings the biggest ovation during pre-game presentations.
Detroit, with seven Swedes dressed for the game, is arguably the most popular NHL team in Sweden.
Several hundred fans from the Detroit area made the trip to Sweden for the game.
PANTHERS V BLACKHAWKS
AP, HELSINKI
Home favorite Ville Koistinen scored the winning penalty in the first NHL match played in Finland to give the Florida Panthers a season-opening 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Panthers rallied from a goal down three times to take the game into a scoreless overtime period. Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Florida’s Steven Reinprecht then netted in the first shootout round, before Patrick Kane’s effort was saved by Tomas Vokoun and Finnish defenseman Koistinen secured the win.
“I was not really sure that the puck was in . I looked at the referee, and he acknowledged it.” Koistinen said. “This is quite unbelievable, to do this in a game before a home crowd in my home country.”
Last year, the Panthers race for a playoff spot was thwarted by inept overtime play and Vokoun is hoping that the shootout win will be the first of many this season.
Kane had given Chicago the lead with a backhand in the second period, before Michael Frolik replied. Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp added goals for Chicago in the third, with Koistinen and David Booth equalizing each time for the Panthers.
Kane’s goal came from a pinpoint long distance pass from Niklas Hjalmarsson, he then accelerated before fooling Vokoun to make space for his finish at 5:19 in the second period.
The goal clearly lifted the Blackhawks who up until then had been forced on the defensive.
Frolik tied the game at 13:01 after a great pass by Steven Reinprecht.
Chicago came close to retaking the lead through Kane, who forced a fine save from Vokoun.
The Blackhawks eventually took the lead again at 3:52 in the third period through Byfuglien after a goalmouth scramble. A shot by Koistinen at 7:29 drew Florida level, assists going to Cory Stillman and Frolik.
Patrick Sharp scored at 11:36, but David Booth fired a high shot unassisted with 2:21 remaining to make it 3-3 and send the game into overtime.
In other NHL action, it was:
• Penguins 3, Rangers 2
• Flyers 2, Hurricanes 0
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
RSS