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Fleury sharp as Penguins impress new owner with win
2006-10-06
Marc-Andre Fleury made 40 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins opened the new season with a 4-0 win over Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, in front an excited home crowd that included new owner Jim Balsillie. Last year's rookie sensation Sidney Crosby contributed a goal and an assist to the win but it was Fleury, another former number one draft pick, who stole the spotlight with an acrobatic performance in the Penguins net. Enjoying the show was Balsillie, the Canadian businessman who earlier in the day agreed to purchase the team for a reported $175 million from Hall of Famer and current owner Mario Lemieux. Prior to the opening faceoff, the Penguins paid tribute to Lemieux by raising his number to the rafters of the Mellon Arena. "Speaking for the rest of the players, as long as that 66 hangs above us, we'll do our best to carry on your legacy," Crosby told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. After suffering through last year's dismal campaign that produced just 22 wins, Pittsburgh supporters had hardly settled into their seats before the Penguins had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from Michel Ouellet and Jarkko Ruutu before the first period was 10 minutes old. Crosby and Josef Melichar added second period tallies to back up a brilliant effort by Fleury, as the Flyers badly out shot the Penguins 40 to 21. "I love the game of hockey and I am very excited to sign this agreement to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and become a part of the National Hockey League," said Balsillie. In New York, newly acquired Brendan Shanahan scored twice to become the 15th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals as the Rangers opened their campaign with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Jaromir Jagr, playing his first game as the Rangers captain, scored just 29 seconds into the opening period to the roaring approval of the Madison Square Garden crowd. Blair Betts and Martin Straka, into an empty net, also scored for the Rangers while Alexander Semin and Rico Fata answered for Washington. Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin, last season's rookie of the year, failed to record a point. In Ottawa, Chad Kilger and Darcy Tucker each scored a pair of goals and Andrew Raycroft made 34 saves to record the shutout as Toronto Maple Leafs routed the Senators 6-0. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Bates Battaglia also scored for the Maple Leafs, who bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the Senators a day earlier in their season opener in Toronto. (Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto) Muzi.com News
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