NHL

Canadiens blank Thrashers behind backup goaltender

By wire services
Published October 13, 2005

ATLANTA - Montreal goalie Yann Danis had the NHL debut he envisioned.

The 24-year-old stopped 32 shots in the Canadiens 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers Wednesday night.

"I imagined it," Danis said after shutting down Ilya Kovalchuk and a powerful Atlanta attack. "It was a good start for me. Our team scored the first goal, so my confidence was there. ... But it's only one game."

Danis is the third Montreal goalie to win his debut with a shutout, following Wayne Thomas in 1973 and Bob Perreault in 1955.

"He made saves when he needed to," said Saku Koivu, who scored Montreal's second goal. "It was not an easy spot for him."

With a little help from Thrashers' defenseman Bobby Holik, Jan Bulis gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead only 3 minutes into the game, and that goal stood until Koivu scored in the third period.

Kovalchuk, who in 2003-04 tied Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash for the league lead in goals with 41, made his season debut after signing a five-year, $32-million deal with the Thrashers on Saturday. He received his work visa from the Immigration and Naturalization Service late Tuesday, clearing him to play against the Canadiens.

HURRICANES 7, CAPITALS 2: Eric Staal got his fifth goal of the season and captain Rod Brind'Amour scored his first, helping host Carolina beat Washington.

The Hurricanes finally found some success on the power play, as Staal, Brind'Amour and Matt Cullen scored with a man advantage. They were 0-for-15 in the previous three games, a drought that stretched to 17 before Staal snapped it.

WILD 6, CANUCKS 0: Matt Foy scored the first two goals of his career and Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves as host Minnesota handed Vancouver its first loss of the season.

Marc Chouinard moved within one goal of Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson for the league lead with his fourth, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored on a penalty shot in the third.

PREDATORS 5, AVALANCHE 4: Marek Zidlicky scored a power-play goal with 61/2 minutes to play after Colorado goalie David Aebischer took a cheap penalty, helping visiting Nashville stay undefeated.

Rookie Marek Svatos scored his fifth goal in three games.

BLUE JACKETS: Center Gilbert Brule, Columbus' first-round draft pick, will miss six weeks with a broken sternum.

BRUINS: Captain Joe Thornton returned to Boston from the team's road trip to treat his back spasms.

HURRICANES: In a loss last week to the New York Islanders, Carolina defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky accidentally put the puck past rookie goaltender Cam Ward while trying to clear it. Wednesday night, Niclas Wallin gave away a goal. It appeared Wallin was trying to pass to Ward, only the goalie had left his post during a delayed penalty on the Capitals to give Carolina an extra skater. The puck went into the net to give Washington the lead. Dainias Zubrus was the last Washington player to touch it, so he got credit for the goal.

WILD: Forward Marian Gaborik's groin injury could keep him out of Minnesota's lineup another 10 days.

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 01:12:06]