NHL ticket prices decrease

The average NHL ticket price is down 7.5 percent from 2003-04, the last time the league played before a lockout wiped out last season.

The average price of $41.19 is even lower than the figures for the 2002-03 season, according to the Chicago-based Team Marketing Report’s fan cost study. The reductions were the only major decreases reported in the 12-year history of the study for any league.

On the ice

Panthers 2, Thrashers 0: At Sunrise, Fla., Roberto Luongo made 34 saves for his 24th career shutout, and Nathan Horton and Lucas Krajicek scored in the third period to lift Florida to a victory over Atlanta.

Sabres 6, Islanders 4: At Buffalo, N.Y., Daniel Briere scored two goals and set up another, leading the Sabres to a victory over New York.

Capitals 3, Blue Jackets 2: At Washington, Alexander Ovechkin became the first Capitals player to score twice in his NHL debut, and Washington beat Columbus.

Canadiens 2, Bruins 1: At Boston, Michael Ryder backhanded in the rebound of Alexei Kovalev’s shot on the power play with 11.1 seconds remaining to give Montreal a win over the Bruins.

Rangers 5, Flyers 3: At Philadelphia, Jaromir Jagr scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period, leading New York to a victory over the Flyers.

Devils 5, Penguins 1: At East Rutherford, N.J., Zach Parise, New Jersey’s first-round draft pick in 2003, scored a power-play goal and assisted on one of Brian Gionta’s two goals in an outstanding debut that led the Devils to a victory over Pittsburgh.

Red Wings 5, Blues 1: At Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist in the first 7 minutes and the Red Wings went on to beat St. Louis.

Lightning 5, Hurricanes 2: At Tampa, Fla., the Lightning raised a giant championship banner during an emotional ceremony, and then began the defense of their title with a victory over Carolina.

Predators 3, Sharks 2: At Nashville, Tenn., Scott Hartnell broke a tie with 4:13 left, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 22 shots to help the Predators beat San Jose.

Wild 6, Flames 3: At St. Paul, Minn., Marc Chouinard scored three goals and Todd White added a goal and two assists, leading Minnesota past Calgary.

Stars 5, Kings 4: At Dallas, Philippe Boucher capped the Stars’ comeback from an early four-goal deficit with a shot that went in off a Los Angeles defenseman with 4:46 left, providing a victory over the Kings.

Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2 (SO): At Toronto, Daniel Alfredsson scored twice in the final six minutes of regulation and once during the first shootout in NHL history as Ottawa rallied for a victory over the Maple Leafs.

Mighty Ducks 5, Blackhawks 3: At Chicago, the Mighty Ducks got power-play goals from Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer and Joffrey Lupul added two more to lift Anaheim to a victory over the Blackhawks.

Canucks 3, Coyotes 2: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Markus Naslund scored two goals and Dan Cloutier made 16 of his 30 saves in the first period to lead the Canucks to a victory over Phoenix.

Oilers 4, Avalanche 3: At Edmonton, Alberta, Shawn Horcoff scored 24 seconds into the game and then added the game-winner with 3:18 to play and the Oilers beat Colorado. Ryan Smyth had a goal and two assists for Edmonton.