SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Oct. 4
Florida at N.Y. Rangers (7 p.m. EST). Free-agent acquisitions Chris Drury and Scott Gomez make their debuts for the Rangers.
STARS
-Paul Stastny, Avalanche, had his first career hat trick in Colorado’s 4-3 win over Dallas.
-Dany Heatley, Senators, scored his second goal of the game 2:57 into overtime and Ottawa defeated Toronto 4-3.
-Saku Koivu, Canadiens, scored his second power-play goal 1:05 into overtime to give Montreal a 3-2 win at Carolina.
-Jiri Hudler and Dominik Hasek, Red Wings. Hudler scored and Hasek made three saves in a shootout, lifting Detroit to a 3-2 victory over Anaheim.
EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA
Three of the four NHL games on Wednesday night went beyond regulation time. Montreal and Ottawa won in overtime, while Detroit bested defending champion Anaheim in a shootout. In the other contest, Colorado withstood a late rally from Dallas for a 4-3 victory.
LOCKED UP
Dany Heatley agreed to terms on a six-year, $45-million extension with the Senators on Wednesday – 2 1/2 hours before Ottawa’s season opener at Toronto. The new deal, which is front-loaded, will pay an average of $7.5 million, tops on the Senators.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
New Jersey begins its season-opening nine-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Thursday night. The trip was necessary because the new Prudential Center in Newark is getting its final touches. Only two other NHL teams started a season with nine consecutive road games, Quebec in 1980-81 and Carolina in 1999-2000. Both were also waiting for arena renovation or construction to be completed.
REGAINING RESPECT
Philadelphia will try to begin improving on its worst season in franchise history when it opens its season in Calgary on Thursday night. The Flyers were the worst team in the league last season, missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994, set team records for most losses (48) and fewest points (56), and an NHL mark for greatest one-year point drop of 45.
CARRYOVER
Montreal, owners of the best power-play unit in the NHL last season at 22.8 percent, scored all three of its goals with the man-advantage on Wednesday night, including the overtime winner in a 3-2 win at Carolina.
SNAPPED
Dallas had its 10-game unbeaten streak in season openers end with Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss to Colorado. It was the active streak in the league. The Avalanche, meanwhile, moved to 16-5-7 in franchise history in season openers, the best winning percentage in the NHL.
ANOTHER SLOW START
Carolina lost its fifth straight season opener with a 3-2 overtime defeat to Montreal on Wednesday night.
SPEAKING
“I think it’s the local economy right now. I think it’s hurting us as well as everyone else.” – Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom attempting to explain why there wasn’t a sellout for the Red Wings’ season opener against defending champion Anaheim on Wednesday night.