Kraken edge Predators for first victory
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
Brandon Tanev scored his second goal into an empty net with 1:21 left, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Thursday for the first victory in the expansion franchise’s second game.
ROUNDUP
The Kraken became the latest expansion franchise to win its first game with the Predators, improving that mark to 3-1-1. They joined Columbus (Nov. 16, 2000) and the Golden Knights (Dec. 8, 2017) in that group.
Alex Wennberg and Jared Mccann each had a goal and an assist for Seattle.
Tanev’s second goal on Seattle’s lone third-period shot was the winner. Mikael Granlund scored with 39.9 seconds left to pull Nashville within 4-3. The Predators didn’t beat goalie Philipp Grubauer again, even with goalie Juuse Saros still out for an extra attacker.
Grubauer made 12 saves in the third as Nashville outshot Seattle 30-26 overall. Roman Josi and Eeli Tolvanen scored for the Predators.
■ Sabres 5, Canadiens 1: At Buffalo, N.Y., Victor Olofsson and Anders Bjork scored 2:01 apart in the second period to back 40-year-old Craig Anderson, who had 30 saves in his debut with his sixth NHL team. Buffalo went 3-for-6 on the power play in its season opener.
■ Panthers 5, Penguins 4, OT: At Sunrise, Fla., Carter Verhaeghe scored his second goal of the night 1:37 into overtime after Florida erased a two-goal third-period deficit. Aaron Ekblad scored twice in the final 6:31 of regulation for the Panthers.
■ Lightning 7, Red Wings 6, OT: At Detroit, Ondrej Palat scored with 2:17 left in overtime, capping Tampa Bay’s comeback from a three-goal deficit. Tyler Bertuzzi scored three of his career-high four goals in the second period for Detroit.
■ Blue Jackets 8, Coyotes 2: At Columbus, Ohio, Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals and two assists to back Elvis Merzlikins, who stopped 36 shots in his first opening-night start, and Brad Larsen won his coaching debut.
■ Hurricanes 6, Islanders 3: At Raleigh, N.C., Andrei Svechnikov had two goals and an assist to back Frederik Andersen, who had 25 saves in his Carolina debut in both teams’ season opener.
■ Stars 3, Rangers 2, OT: At New York, Miro Heiskanen scored 1:38 into overtime in Dallas’ season opener, spoiling former Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant’s home debut with New York.
■ Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2: At Ottawa, Ontario, Tyler Ennis had a goal and an assist in Ottawa’s three-goal first period to back Anton Forsberg, who stopped a career-high 46 shots.