Hurricanes beat Wild in Helsinki to open season

Brandon Sutter scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes held on to beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in the opening game of the NHL season Thursday in Helsinki.

Anton Babchuk, back after a year in the Russian KHL, and Jussi Jokinen also scored for the Hurricanes. Brent Burns scored for Minnesota with 3:21 left, but Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward made a late save to preserve the win.

Guillaume Latendresse scored for Minnesota 3:33 into the game, but Sutter tied it on a power play with 10 seconds left in the first period. Babchuk put Carolina in front at 5:58 of the second period on another power play in which coach Paul Maurice lined up three forwards.

"I'll do it again. If the power play struggles, it affects the offense, and it has been good to think of something which could be positive," Maurice said.

New Minnesota center Matt Cullen tied it at 9:52 against his former team, but Carolina upped the pace and took control. Jokinen restored the Hurricanes' lead on a two-man advantage at 11:16, and Sutter made it 4-2 at 18:03 after a great rush by Patrick Dwyer up the right wing.

"We were nervous during the first 10 minutes," Jokinen said. "Then we got bigger intensity and energy and played a good second period. They have two good units offensively, but their weakness is the defense, and we used that, putting pressure on their defensemen."

Flyers 3, Penguins 2: Surprise starter Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots in his NHL debut, Danny Briere and Blair Betts scored the first two goals, and the Flyers spoiled the Pittsburgh Penguins' debut game in their new arena.

Maple Leafs 3, Canadiens 2: Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves and Clarke MacArthur scored early in the third to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead as Toronto won its first home opener since October 2000.

- AP