Canucks Still Perfect to Start

The season’s barely a week old, but the Vancouver Canucks are already excited about 1999.

“Sure, it’s time to get a little bit excited,” Coach Mark Crawford said after the Canucks’ 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Vancouver on Saturday night. “We’re not going to get carried away with ourselves. We know we’ve got a long way to go. . . . But right now, the confidence can keep building for us if we continue to adhere to what we’re doing.”

The Canucks improved to 3-0, one victory short of their best start in franchise history, set in the 1992-93 season. As well, Vancouver’s three-game winning streak is its longest since February 1998.

Bill Muckalt, with the eventual game-winner, and Todd Bertuzzi each scored their first goals in almost eight months. Rookie Steve Kariya scored his first NHL career goal, and fourth-liner Harry York put the game away, scoring in the third period.

Detroit 2, Florida 2--Red Wing goaltender Chris Osgood made a spectacular glove save in overtime to help preserve a tie with the Panthers at Sunrise, Fla.

Radek Dvorak stole the puck and went in alone toward the net with just more than a minute remaining. As Osgood was falling, he reached behind him and gloved Dvorak’s point-blank shot to salvage a point in the teams’ only meeting of the season.

New Jersey 1, Tampa Bay 0--Brian Rolston scored the only goal and Martin Brodeur made 14 saves for his 37th career shutout as the Devils defeated the Lightning at East Rutherford, N.J.

Brodeur got the start after the NHL decided not to suspend him for a slash against Pittsburgh’s Matthew Barnaby. Brodeur got a match penalty which carried an ejection from the game and a league review in New Jersey’s 7-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Boston 1, Philadelphia 1--Mark Recchi scored the Flyers’ first goal of the season, six minutes, 42 seconds into the second period at Boston as the Flyers avoided three consecutive shutout losses for the first time in team history. The Bruins are 0-3-1, their worst start since losing their first four games in 1964.

Dallas 3, San Jose 2--Pavel Patera and Jere Lehtinen each scored goals in the final 5:40 at San Jose as the Stars ended the Sharks’ season-opening three-game winning streak and improved to 4-1 this season.

Ottawa 4, Toronto 3--Wade Redden scored the game-winner on a power play midway through the third period as the Senators outshot the Maple Leafs, 50-23, to win at Kanata, Ontario and improve to 4-0-0.

Atlanta 5, Buffalo 5--Goaltender Dominik Hasek was benched for the first time since Dec. 28 in the second period, but the Sabres recovered from a 5-3 deficit early in the third at Atlanta and tied the Thrashers, who earned their first-ever point.

St. Louis 4, Edmonton 2--Geoff Courtnall’s tie-breaking goal at 15:19 of the third period lifted the Blues over the Oilers at Edmonton. St. Louis center Pierre Turgeon became the 55th NHL player to reach 1,000 points with a power-play goal at 13:23 of the second period, tying the game 2-2.