Articles by Doug Stolhand

The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a great start, and no one deserves more credit than goaltender Ray Emery.Emery made 24 saves and came within roughly 10 minutes of becoming the Flyers’ first goalie to open the season with consecutive shutouts since Hall of Famer Bernie Parent in 1973, leading Philadelphia to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winning games like this was a big reason Rostislav Klesla wanted to stay with the Columbus Blue Jackets.Klesla celebrated a new four-year contract extension by scoring a goal midway through the third period Saturday night to push the Blue Jackets past the Minnesota Wild, 2-1, in the season opener for both teams

BUFFALO, N.Y. – It hasn’t taken long for Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez to rediscover their chemistry now that they’ve been reunited in Montreal

ATLANTA – Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers know better than to put too much stock in a season-opening win.”Last year we won the first game, too,” said Kovalchuk after he scored two goals in Atlanta’s 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night

WASHINGTON – By the time the game was 77 seconds old, Alex Ovechkin scored the first time his stick touched the puck, earning “MVP!” chants from all those red-clad fans

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Montreal Canadiens lost centre Glen Metropolit and defenceman Ryan O’Byrne to injuries in the second period against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday

The New York Islanders are becoming the NHL’s biggest free agent.Frustrated with a lack of a decision by local government to approve or reject a major developmental plan that would provide the Islanders with a new, refurbished arena, club owner Charles Wang said Saturday he will explore all other options – including relocation

TORONTO – CBC personality Don Cherry blasted the NHL Players Association’s firing of former union boss Paul Kelly on his “Coach’s Corner” segment on Saturday’s “Hockey Night in Canada

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Just before the start of their ninth season opener, the Columbus Blue Jackets locked up the only player who has been with them from the beginning

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Keith Tkachuk had two power-play goals and an assist and the St. Louis Blues overcame a two-goal deficit for the second straight night, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Saturday to sweep the two-game series

DENVER – Craig Anderson always felt he could be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. After two games he certainly has performed like one for the Colorado Avalanche

HELSINKI, Finland – Antti Niemi made 23 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks used three power-play goals to rout the Florida Panthers 4-0 Saturday and split the season-opening double header in Finland

WINNIPEG – Mike Keane had a goal and an assist for Manitoba as the Moose held on for a 4-3 win over the Houston Aeros in the American Hockey League opener for both clubs Friday

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Claimed D Christoph Schubert off re-entry waivers from Ottawa

PITTSBURGH – There were no champagne showers for the Pittsburgh Penguins, no post-game celebration. They had to be satisfied with taking away two points from a division opponent on an emotional and potentially distraction-filled night, and that was plenty good enough

Ray Emery made 28 saves in his Philadelphia debut, leading the Flyers to a 2-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in their opener

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins raised their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters before their opener against the New York Rangers on Friday night

Rick DiPietro’s recognizable name and decade-and-a-half long contract certainly suggest he is the face of the New York Islanders.That is about to change

CALGARY – After winning their first season-opening game in seven seasons, the Calgary Flames have their sights set on improving to 2-0 when they visit the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night (CBC, 10 p