UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers have had good fortune when opening their NHL schedule at home.
The Panthers erased a late two-goal deficit and defeated the Penguins, 5-4 on Carter Verhaeghe’s goal 97 seconds into overtime. The Pens were up 4-2 until Aaron Ekblad scored the two late goals to extend the game. Verhaeghe also finished with two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 43 saves for Florida, including a breakaway stop in OT.
The Panthers have won their last eight season-opening home games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Kraken have earned their first franchise victory in two games by beating the Predators, 4-3. Brandon Tanev scored his second goal into an empty net with 1:21 left. Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann each had a goal and an assist for Seattle.
— Ondrej Palat scored 2:43 into overtime to finish off the Lightning’s comeback in a 7-6 triumph over the Red Wings. Tyler Bertuzzi scored a career-high four times, three coming in the second period as Detroit took a three-goal lead. Ross Colton, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn scored in a four-minute span for Tampa Bay to make it 6-all.
— Andrei Svechnikov provided two goals and an assist in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 downing of the Islanders. Teuvo Teravainen added a goal and an assist to back Frederik Andersen, who stopped 25 shots in his Carolina debut. Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee each scored goals in the first of 13 straight road games for the Isles to open the season.
— The Stars pulled out a 3-2 win over the Rangers on Miro Heiskanen’s goal at 1:38 of OT. Jacob Peterson and Radek Faksa scored early for Dallas, and Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin combined to make 31 saves. Adam Fox and Chris Kreider each had a goal for New York.
— Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty carried the Kings’ offense on a 6-2 rout of the Golden Knights. Kopitar set a team record by scoring five points in a season opener, delivering three goals and two assists. Drew Doughty added a goal and three assists to the win.
— The Blue Jackets rolled to an 8-2 win over the Coyotes as Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals and two assists. Max Domi added a goal and two assists to help Brad Larsen win his first game as coach of Columbus. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 36 shots in his first opening-night start.
— Anton Forsberg made a career-high 46 saves and the Senators scored three times in the first period before holding off the Maple Leafs, 3-2. Tyler Ennis had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which also received goals from Alex Formenton and Chris Tierney. Formenton scored on a slap shot with 0.6 seconds remaining in the opening period.
— The Sabres have followed a tumultuous summer with a stunning season-opening 5-1 win over the injury-depleted Canadiens. Victor Olofsson and Anders Bjork scored 2:01 apart in the second period. The Sabres converted three of six power-play opportunities, with Tage Thompson pushing Buffalo’s lead to 5-1 early in the third period.
