Kings open defense of Cup with loss to 'Hawks

The Chicago Blackhawks raised their own Stanley Cup championship banner just two seasons ago, so their core players already know it's tough to go back to work after a pregame party.

When the Los Angeles Kings were finished raising their banner and receiving their rings Saturday, the Blackhawks reminded the champs that what happened last year won't help the Kings in this shortened NHL season.

Marian Hossa had two goals and an assist, Corey Crawford made 19 saves, and visiting Chicago crashed the Kings' Stanley Cup celebration with a 5-2 victory.

Captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who jumped to a 3-0 lead on Michael Frolik's goal less than 15 minutes in.

With superior speed and skill, Chicago ruined the festivities shortly after the Kings hung their first championship banner in the Staples Center rafters.

"We wanted to have a good start, and whether they were going to be on their game or not didn't really matter to us," said Toews, the Conn Smythe Trophy-winning hero of Chicago's 2010 title run.

"We tried not to focus on what was going on out there before the game. We were in (the locker room), just getting ready and doing our thing. We had a great first period, and when you come out in the first 20 minutes like that, you want to keep it going, and that's what we did."

With every player who touched the ice in last season's playoffs returning to defend the title, the Kings received their championship rings during a stirring pregame ceremony that included each player passing the Cup around the boards. The Blackhawks didn't watch it, but they seemed fired up from the opening faceoff.

"The season after you win the Cup, everyone is going to play their best game against the Cup champion, because that's the game where you want to prove yourselves and make a statement," said Kane, whose 5-on-3 goal started the rout. "So I think that's what we were kind of feeling today."

Rob Scuderi and Jordan Nolan scored and Jonathan Quick stopped 17 shots for the Kings, who are definitely done celebrating last season's achievements as the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win the Stanley Cup.

Quick gave up five goals just once last season while making his first All-Star team, but he wasn't much better than his teammates in his first game since winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and getting a 10-year, $58 million contract extension.

Penguins 3, Flyers 1: Tyler Kennedy and James Neal both scored goals to lead Pittsburgh at Philadelphia.

Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers in the first game for both teams since the end of the 113-day NHL lockout.

Senators 4, Jets 1: Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist, leading Ottawa at Winnipeg.

Milan Michalek, Kyle Turris and Chris Neil, with the game-winner in the second period, scored Ottawa's other goals.

Bruins 3, Rangers 1: Tuukka Rask stopped 20 shots for Boston in his first game after taking over for two-time Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, and the Bruins beat visiting New York.

Milan Lucic and Daniel Paille scored for Boston, which won the Northeast Division last year before losing in the first round of the playoffs. Rask backed up Thomas during the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup run and inherited the job when the enigmatic goalie decided to take a year off to rest.

Maple Leafs 2, Canadiens 1: Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozek scored power-play goals as Toronto won at Montreal.

The Maple Leafs went 2 for 5 with the man-advantage and held Montreal to 1 for 5 on Brian Gionta's goal - and that was the difference in a sloppily played game by both clubs.

Devils 2, Islanders 1: At Uniondale, N.Y., David Clarkson's goal at 8:17 of the third period lifted New Jersey past New York.

Travis Zajac also scored for New Jersey. Martin Brodeur stopped 18 shots to increase his NHL wins record to 657.

Lightning 6, Capitals 3: At Tampa, Fla., Martin St. Louis and Eric Brewer each scored two goals as Tampa Bay beat Washington.

St. Louis added an assist, while Vincent Lecavalier and Cory Conacher also scored goals for the Lightning.

Panthers 5, Hurricanes 1: At Sunrise, Fla., Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and two assists in his NHL debut, Brian Campbell scored twice in a first-period frenzy and Florida beat Carolina.

Alex Kovalev also had a goal and two assists in his first game with Florida.

Wild 4, Avalanche 2: At St. Paul, Minn., Dany Heatley had two power-play goals on assists from new teammate Zach Parise, lifting Minnesota past Colorado.

Mikael Granlund also scored for the Wild in his first NHL appearance, Pierre-Marc Bouchard had a late goal in his first game in more than a year and Niklas Backstrom made 25 saves to help make the amped-up crowd of 19,298 forget all about the 119-day lockout that delayed the opener by 3 1/2 months.

Blues 6, Red Wings 0: Rookie Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice in his NHL debut and Chris Stewart also had a pair of goals to help St. Louis beat visiting Detroit.

Coach Ken Hitchcock, general manager Doug Armstrong and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott posed at center ice with postseason trophies earned from last season's Central Division championship team shortly before the opening faceoff. A standing room crowd of 20,035 roared throughout the opener.

Ducks 7, Canucks 3: Teemu Selanne had two goals and two assists to lead Anaheim at Vancouver.

Stars 4, Coyotes 3: Jaromir Jagr scored two goals and assisted on the game-winner in his Dallas debut, and the Stars opened the shortened season with a win over visiting Phoenix.

Jagr, the NHL's active leader in goals, assists and points, had a hand in all four goals for Dallas. Former Spokane Chief Ray Whitney, Phoenix's leading scorer last season, scored a goal in the first game against his former team.

Blue Jackets 3, Predators 2, SO: Derick Brassard scored in the sixth round of a shootout, and Columbus won at Nashville.

Columbus had not won an opener since Oct. 3, 2009, against Minnesota, and the Blue Jackets had won only once in Nashville in the previous 20 games.