Roenick, in First Game With Flyers, Sticks It to Panthers

The fans in Philadelphia nearly brought Jeremy Roenick to tears before the game. They fought over his stick after it was over.

Roenick, playing his first game with the Flyers, scored a goal and had two assists, and Justin Williams scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, to lead Philadelphia to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

“I loved the crowd,” said Roenick, who signed a five-year, $37.5-million contract. “I used to hate playing here when I was an opponent. The reception I got when I came out, I had to hold back some tears.”

Roenick rewarded the sellout crowd of 19,545 at the First Union Center by tossing his stick into the stands after the game. Two men, one wearing a suit, and a woman tugged at it. The man in the suit won the battle but turned the stick over to the woman after the other fans booed.

Detroit 4, San Jose 3--Brendan Shanahan scored a short-handed goal--his third goal of the night--1:55 into overtime as the revamped Red Wings won at San Jose.

With Sergei Fedorov in the penalty box, Shanahan’s forechecking forced San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov to play the puck awkwardly off the boards. Shanahan corralled the loose puck and beat Nabokov for his second short-handed goal of the night.

Chicago 5, Vancouver 4--Defenseman Phil Housley scored twice at Vancouver, Canada, in his Blackhawk debut.

Eric Daze and Steve Sullivan each had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Calder also scored for the Blackhawks, who won their first opener in four seasons.

Montreal 6, Ottawa 4--Oleg Petrov scored two goals and added an assist, and Jeff Hackett made 37 saves to lead the Canadiens at Ottawa.

Brian Savage had a goal and three assists, Yanic Perreault and Stephane Robidas added a goal and an assist each, and Chad Kilger also scored as Montreal improved to 5-4-3 in its last 12 openers.

Columbus 3, St. Louis 3--Rookie Rostislav Klesla forced overtime by jamming in a rebound with 2:44 left for the Blue Jackets at Columbus, Ohio.

Klesla, a 19-year-old defenseman, was parked at the left post as St. Louis goalie Brent Johnson deflected Deron Quint’s drive from the point. The puck bounced off Johnson’s pads and Klesla forced it past Johnson.

Atlanta 2, Buffalo 1--Milan Hnilicka stopped 28 shots at Buffalo, N.Y., as the Thrashers won their opener for the first time in their three-year history.