Jesper Boqvist batted in the go-ahead goal with 10:20 left in the third period as the Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams in Sunrise, Fla.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves to earn the win for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. Florida also got goals from A.J. Greer and Carter Verhaeghe. Mackie Samoskevich added two assists.
Spencer Knight, a former Panthers first-round pick, made 34 saves for Chicago, which is the second-youngest squad in the NHL this season.
Frank Nazar scored a goal and added an assist for the Blackhawks. Teuvo Teravainen had Chicago’s other goal, and Tyler Bertuzzi chipped in with two assists.
Avalanche 4, Kings 1
Nathan MacKinnon collected two assists to become Colorado’s all-time points leader, leading the visiting Avalanche to a win over Los Angeles in the season opener for both teams.
Martin Necas scored two goals for the Avalanche, who lost 8-4 in their season opener a year ago against the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, Sam Malinski also scored, Cale Makar added two assists and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves for Colorado.
Kevin Fiala scored a late 5-on-3 goal and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for the Kings.
Penguins 3, Rangers 0
Justin Brazeau scored two goals, and Arturs Silovs finished with 25 saves, lifting visiting Pittsburgh to a shutout victory over New York in the season opener for both teams.
Blake Lizotte added an empty-net goal, and Evgeni Malkin notched a pair of assists to help the Penguins present Dan Muse with his first victory as the team’s new head coach. Muse spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Rangers. A surprise starter over Tristan Jarry, Silovs turned aside all five shots he faced in the third period to preserve his ninth career win and first regular-season shutout.
Pittsburgh also spoiled the head-coaching debut of Mike Sullivan, who helped the Penguins capture two Stanley Cup titles during his 10 seasons as the team’s bench boss.
