NHL Scores: Moulson scores twice; Rangers lose home opener

It was quite the big night in Buffalo as Matt Moulson made his debut with the Sabres and Lindy Ruff returned to the city he called home for the previous 15 years.

Despite Moulson’s two goals (see them here and here) the Sabres were still on the losing end of a 4-3 decision, falling to 2-11-1. On the plus side, they at least made the final score respectable and nearly helped Buffalo pull off a comeback after falling behind 4-1 in the second period.

Meanwhile, the Rangers finally played their first home game after opening the season on a nine-game road trip and were blanked by the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0, who were starting their backup goaltender. Henrik Lundqvist made his return to the lineup for the Rangers. He was solid enough, but even goalies as good as him need a little bit of offensive support.

Sidney Crosby added two more points for the Penguins as they snapped their three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win in Carolina. The most surprising part of that win? Brooks Orpik assisted on all three Penguins goals, giving him just the second three-assist game of his career (the first one was back in 2010).

Stars 4, Sabres 3

Penguins 3, Hurricanes 1

Canadiens 2, Rangers 0

Blackhawks 5, Wild 1

Canucks 3, Capitals 2

Sabres fans gave him a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period and his new team -- Dallas -- managed to pick up a 4-3 win. All in all, a pretty good night for Lindy Ruff.

He was awesome, scoring two goals and recording four shots on goal. So much for that concern that he will struggle away from John Tavares.

Not at all. Not only did a return not help them, but neither did the return of starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers were shut out again and remain tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Blackhawks played like champions in a 5-1 win, and it wasn’t just the established superstars doing the damage. It was also young guys like Brandon Saad with a two-point night, including a highlight reel spin-o-rama pass to set up Patrick Kane in the third period to help put the game out of reach.

As usual, it was Sidney Crosby doing the damage with a two-point night, setting up goals by Chris Kunitz and Jayson Megna (first of his career) as the Penguins snapped their three-game losing streak. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it was pretty one-sided as the Hurricanes never really posed much of a threat during five-on-five play.

So, about that Rangers offense. They were shut out for already the third time this season (all since Rick Nash was injured), and have managed to score more than two goals just three times in their first 10 games. For a team that struggled at times offensively for much of last season and has a new coach this probably isn’t the start they wanted. The best thing the Rangers have going for them: The Metropolitan Division, and most of the Eastern Conference, has been pretty bad so far this season as well

Matt Moulson has played 20 minutes for the Buffalo Sabres and already has as many goals with the team as every player currently on the roster this season except for one: Cody Hodgson. He has four.

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