Red Wings Begin Latest Quest With 3-1 Victory Over Flames

Detroit scored two power-play goals in the opening 21 minutes and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night as the Red Wings opened defense of their Stanley Cup championship at Calgary.

Chris Osgood, Detroit’s No. 1 goaltender since Mike Vernon was traded to San Jose in the off-season, made 25 saves and didn’t allow a goal until Jarome Iginla scored at 12:26 of the third period.

Iginla’s goal came after the Flames had peppered Osgood with nine shots in the first half of the third period.

Calgary fell behind early when Red Wings right wing Doug Brown scored on the power play 1:54 into the game. The Red Wings made it 2-0 only 36 seconds into the second period when left wing Brendan Shanahan was credited with the power-play goal.

Martin Lapointe scored the Red Wings’ final goal into an empty net with 37 seconds left.

Tampa Bay 4, Carolina 2--The Hurricanes lost their first game when Dino Ciccarelli scored twice and added an assist for the Lightning at Tampa Bay. Mikael Renberg also had two goals for Tampa Bay, the second into an empty net with 31 seconds left. Kevin Dineen and Nelson Emerson scored for the Hurricanes, who moved to North Carolina from Hartford, Conn.

Phoenix 6, Chicago 2--Jeremy Roenick had a goal and two assists in the Coyotes’ victory over his former Chicago teammates at Phoenix.

Teppo Numminen, Bob Corkum, Dallas Drake, Norm Maciver and Jim McKenzie also scored for the Coyotes, playing their first game under new Coach Jim Schoenfeld. Nikolai Khabibulin made 28 saves.

Buffalo 3, St. Louis 1--Most valuable player goalie Dominik Hasek made 33 saves and Miroslav Satan had a goal and an assist as the Sabres won at St. Louis.

Philadelphia 3, Florida 1--Chris Gratton, the former Tampa Bay center who signed a five-year, $16.5 million contract with Philadelphia, had a goal and an assist as the Flyers won at home.

Dallas 2, Colorado 2--The Stars’ Greg Adams and the Avalanche’s Jon Klemm scored goals barely a minute apart early in the third period in a tie at Denver.

Ed Belfour, making his Dallas debut after signing a free-agent contract on July 2, had 29 saves. Colorado’s Patrick Roy stopped 24.

Ottawa 2, Montreal 2--Igor Kravchuk scored a shorthanded goal with 10:32 remaining in regulation to enable the Senators to tie the Canadiens at Montreal.

Edmonton 5, San Jose 3--Drake Berehowsky and Doug Weight scored power-play goals 77 seconds apart as the visiting Oilers spoiled the coaching debut of Darryl Sutter.

Washington 4, Toronto 1--Bill Ranford and Olaf Kolzig combined to make 35 saves as the Capitals scored four first-period goals at Toronto.

NHL Notes

The New York Rangers reportedly will sign Wayne Gretzky to a multi-year contract extension today. . . . The driver of the limousine involved in an accident that injured two Detroit Red Wings, including defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, will be charged with driving without a license, a misdemeanor, prosecutors said in Pontiac, Mich. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes extended the contract of their captain, right wing Kevin Dineen, through the 1998-99 season.