Paul Grant
espn.com
-- Patrick Marleau had two goals as the Sharks spoiled the Flames' home opener. Former Montreal Canadien Scott Gomez skated with the San Jose Sharks during the morning skate, adding fuel to the speculation that he's as good as signed by San Jose.
-- James Neal, playing the point on the power play, had seven shots and scored his second and third goals of the season as the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins dumped the New York Rangers in their home opener. Rick Nash again looked good for the Blueshirts, scoring his first goal with the team on a nice effort while shorthanded. The rest of the Rangers looked fairly ordinary; Ryan Callahan had a goal but was minus-3.
-- The only Phoenix Coyote who got a louder ovation than goalie Mike Smith and captain Shane Doan during the pregame ceremonies in Phoenix was Raffi Torres, who was dressed in his uni for the introductions but was still sitting out his 21-game suspension levied for his crushing (and illegal) hit that knocked Marian Hossa from last season's playoffs. Hossa was in the lineup for the rematch and his scoring prowess thus far is surely a big reason for the Blackhawks' strong start.
-- Zach Parise scored his first goal of the season for the Minnesota Wild in their tilt against the former Minnesota team, the Dallas Stars. Josh Harding stood tall 24 times to earn the shutout for the Wild. And whenever you see the Wild get a shutout or limit the opposition on shots, don't forget about the other $98 million man: D-man Ryan Suter.
--And we're not done until we visit the Canucks' goalie mess. Roberto Luongo got the start in Vancouver against the Oilers, allowed a goal with four seconds left in the second period and the tying goal to the short side that tied it at 2-2. After OT, Ales Hemsky dipsy-doodled his way to the shootout goal to give the Oilers the win. What else you got?
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