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NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-winger Alex Ovechkin was named first star of the week Monday after opening the NHL regular season with a pair of three-point games

Movements in the world of hockey Sunday:National Hockey LeagueCHICAGO BLACKHAWKS-Assigned G Corey Crawford to Rockford (AHL).MONTREAL CANADIENS-Recalled D Yannick Weber from Hamilton (AHL)

TORONTO – Hockey hero Claude Lemieux drew swoons for a cheeky butt wiggle while NHL bruiser Tie Domi got the crowd cheering with his best Mick Jagger impression Sunday as beefy athletes traded their hockey sticks for sequined outfits and sexy female partners on the CBC TV elimination-style series, “Battle of the Blades

TORONTO – A strong debut from Joey MacDonald gave Andre Deveaux a chance to play hero.Deveaux scored the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in the American Hockey League season opener for both teams

Scoring summaries from Saturday’s NHL games:Canucks 0 at Avalanche 3First Period1. Colorado, Wolski 3 (Stastny, Hejduk) 14:52Penalties – Stastny Col (hooking) 6:07, Bieksa Vcr, Tucker Col (roughing) 16:09

Results Saturday:AHL Houston 4 Manitoba 2Binghamton 5 Hartford 3Bridgeport 4 Lowell 3 (OT)Grand Rapids 3 Peoria 1Hershey 3 Norfolk 1Lake Erie 3 Rochester 2 (OT)Manchester 6 Albany 3Milwaukee 3 Chicago 2Springfield 5 Portland 2Texas 3 San Antonio 2 (OT)Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 Syracuse 2Worcester 3 Adirondack 2QMJHLAcadie-Bathurst 3 Moncton 1Drummondville 3 Chicoutimi 2 (SO)Halifax 6 Val-d’Or 1Rouyn-Noranda 7 P

TORONTO – NHL tough guys Tie Domi and Bob Probert will have to float like butterflies and forget old habits of stinging like bees Sunday night

LOS ANGELES – Radim Vrbata scored two goals to lead the beleaguered Phoenix Coyotes to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams

EDMONTON – Nikolai Khabibulin’s gift goal to David Moss with 48.7 seconds left was the difference as the Calgary Flames spoiled archrival Edmonton’s home opener, defeating the Oilers 4-3 on Saturday

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks had little trouble getting on track against the Anaheim Ducks this time.With Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton each scoring first period goals, Dany Heatley adding two assists and Evgeni Nabokov making 24 saves the Sharks quickly spoiled the Ducks season opener with a dominating 4-1 victory on Saturday night

WINNIPEG – Pete Zingoni scored twice as the Houston Aeros beat the Manitoba Moose 4-2 in American Hockey League action Satruday.Justin Falk and Clayton Stoner, into an empty net, also scored for the Aeros (1-1-0)

DALLAS – Jason Arnott had an early goal, Michael Santorelli scored the winner in a shootout and the Nashville Predators handed the Stars their first season-opening loss in Dallas with a 3-2 victory Saturday night

Just when it seemed John Tavares’ NHL debut would be perfect, Sidney Crosby wrecked the ending for the prized rookie and the New York Islanders

BOSTON – The Bruins came out with a lot to prove Saturday night after flaming out in their opener.Mission accomplished.”Night and day,” goalie Tim Thomas said after Boston beat Carolina 7-2 to rebound from a 4-1 loss in Washington on Thursday night

NEW YORK – The sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden came to cheer Marian Gaborik, the New York Rangers’ major free-agent signing over the summer, only to see him upstaged by linemates Brandon Dubinsky and Vinny Prospal

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