Jason Zucker scored two power-play goals as part of Buffalo’s four-goal second period and the host Sabres earned their first victory of the season, beating the Ottawa Senators 8-4 on Wednesday.
Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn both also scored twice for the Sabres, who opened the campaign with three consecutive losses. Alex Tuch produced one goal and one assist, and Jiri Kulich added a goal. Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon made 32 saves. Josh Doan and Zach Benson both collected three assists, while Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson each had two helpers.
Jake Sanderson notched a goal and an assist for the Senators in their first game since receiving news that captain Brady Tkachuk will be out for a month or more due to a right hand injury.
Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and Lars Eller also scored, and Jordan Spence had a three-assist outing. Leevi Merilainen stopped 19 shots as the Senators took their third straight defeat since an opening win.
Blackhawks 8, Blues 3
Lukas Reichel had his first career two-goal game plus an assist as visiting Chicago routed St. Louis.
Ilya Mikheyev and Tyler Bertuzzi added a goal and an assist apiece for the Blackhawks, who won their second straight game after starting the season 0-2-1. Frank Nazar, Jason Dickinson and Ryan Greene also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard earned three assists, Alex Vlasic had two assists, and Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom made 23 saves.
Jake Neighbours produced a goal and an assist for the Blues, who have been outscored 13-2 while losing their two home games. Dylan Holloway and Tyler Tucker also scored. Blues goaltender Joel Hofer allowed seven goals on 22 shots. Jordan Binnington came on in relief and stopped six of the seven shots he faced.
Red Wings 4, Panthers 1
Mason Appleton opened the scoring and added an empty-netter, while Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat contributed two assists each as host Detroit collected its third straight victory in a win over Florida.
Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen had the other goals for the Red Wings and Cam Talbot made 20 saves to earn his third consecutive win to begin the season.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Panthers and Brad Marchand scored the lone goal. Florida has dropped the first two games of a five-game road trip.
Mammoth 3, Flames 1
After dominating much of the game, Utah weathered a late push from Calgary to hang on for a win in Salt Lake City.
Barrett Hayton, JJ Peterka and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Mammoth in their home opener. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.
Rasmus Andersson got the goal for the Flames, who lost their fourth straight in regulation after winning their season opener. Devin Cooley stopped 29 shots.
