Curtis McElhinney didn’t expect to be starting an NHL game Friday night

COLUMBUS http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-derick-brassard-jersey , Ohio (AP) — When the week began, Curtis McElhinney didn’t expect to be starting an NHL game Friday night, let alone emerging as the winning goalie in a game in Columbus, where he played as a backup for five seasons.The 35-year-old McElhinney was waived by Toronto on Monday and scooped up by Carolina on Tuesday as a backup after starter Scott Darling was injured over the weekend. He started in the second leg of a back-to-back on Friday night, stopping 31 shots as the Hurricanes beat the Blue Jackets 3-1.McElhinney was the primary backup to Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus from 2013-17. Playing for the Maple Leafs last season, he lost to the Blue Jackets on three separate occasions.“It’s a nice way to get a win,” he said. “I think they got the best of me when I was playing against them on Toronto, so it’s nice to come out here and make a good first impression with the club.”Sebastian Aho and Micheal Ferland each had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Martinook also scored to help give Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour his first NHL win and ruin the home opener for the Blue Jackets.McElhinney grabbed the puck after the final horn and handed it over to the rookie coach.“He deserved it a lot more than I did,” said Brind’Amour, a former Carolina player who’s been an assistant coach for the past seven seasons. “I stood back there and yelled, and he was making all the saves. It was great that we were able to get him and he contributes like that.”Columbus looked discombobulated at times against Carolina’s tough neutral-zone defense but made an aggressive push in the second period, only to have shot after shot turned away by McElhinney.Brandon Dubinsky scored and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for the Blue Jackets.“I think we were a little bit sloppy tonight Youth Evgeni Malkin Jersey , we just weren’t executing,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “But I’m also going to give Carolina a little bit of credit, how they checked.” Martinook got it started 1:43 into the game when he rifled a shot over Bobrovsky’s glove from the slot off a nice feed from 18-year-old Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick in the June draft who picked up his first NHL point with the assist. Dubinsky tied it later in the first when he tipped in a rebound off McElhinney’s skate. Aho chipped a shot up over Bobrovsky to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead 6 1/2 minutes into the second period. Later in the second, McElhinney made a critical save, swallowing up a point-blank shot from Josh Anderson on a breakaway.Just after the Blue Jackets came up empty on their third power play of the night, Ferland found the back of the net with a one-timer from the slot 4 1/2 minutes into the third period. McElhinney shut down Columbus the rest of the way.“It’s one of those things,” McElhinney said. “I’m always grateful for an opportunity to play any time in this league. For Carolina to give me that right now, it feels tremendous.”NOTES: A quick whistle kept the Blue Jackets from tying the game in the second period. A referee whistled the play dead after a McElhinney stop, but the puck immediately popped out and Dubinsky put back the rebound. … The Blue Jackets are now 7-8-3 in home openers. … The Blue Jackets and Hurricanes are two of the youngest clubs in the NHL. The average age for both teams is 25. … Svechnikov got his first point after hitting the post twice in Carolina’s opening night overtime loss to the New York Islanders.UP NEXT:Carolina: Hosts the New York Rangers on Sunday.Columbus: Hosts Colorado on Tuesday night. DETROIT (AP) — Auston Matthews heard the short list of NHL greats he joined by scoring nine times in the first five games of the season.Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Marleau, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy are the only other players in league history to pull off the feat.“Nice,” Matthews said after scoring twice for a league-leading nine goals to help Toronto beat Detroit 5-3 Thursday night.Matthews is the third player in franchise history to score in the first five games of a season.“He had a fast start last year Jake Guentzel Jersey Kids , too, unfortunately he got injured,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s a big man. He’s really worked hard on his body. He’s worked hard on his skating and all parts of his game. With and without the puck, he’s better.”Morgan Rielly had a goal and an assist, giving him 12 points to surpass Bobby Orr’s strong start during the 1973-74 season. Among defensemen, Rielly trails only Harry Cameron, who had 15 points in the Toronto Arenas’ first five games of the 1917-18 season.“I’m not going to address personal stuff,” Rielly said. “I think it’s more important to move on.”Nick Jensen gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead midway through the first period and scored a second goal midway through the third to pull them within a goal.“It’s never as sweet when you get the goals but you don’t get the win,” he said.Soon after Jensen’s second goal, Matthews took advantage of a power play by scoring his second goal of the game.Detroit pulled within a goal again when a review determined Dylan Larkin scored with 6:04 left in the game. The Red Wings pulled Jimmy Howard to add an extra skater, but Ron Hainsey scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.“I didn’t like the third,” said Babcock, a former Detroit coach. “We didn’t take care of the puck as good and we didn’t keep our foot on the gas.”Frederik Andersen made 26 saves and Mitch Marner had a goal for the Maple Leafs.Howard had 30 stops for the rebuilding Red Wings http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-justin-schultz-jersey , who have lost their first four games for the first time since the 1980.“Bits and pieces of the game we did some of the good things, but it wasn’t enough done right,” Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.John Tavares, the top prize in free agency last summer, had four assists for the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs, winners of three straight.“It’s great for the all the guys who are doing some scoring right now,” Babcock said. “It makes you feel good. In the end, though, it’s about winning. It doesn’t really matter who does the scoring as long as you find a way to win. It’s an exciting time for our team, but we’ve got to get a lot better.”NOTES: Matthews joined Sweeney Schriner (1944-45) and Corb Denneny (1921-22) in team history as the three players who scored in each of its first five games in a season. … The Red Wings announced before the game they will retire Hall of Famer Red Kelly’s No. 4 jersey on Feb. 1, 2019, when they host Toronto. Kelly played in Detroit from 1947-60 and for the Maple Leafs from 1960-67. Toronto retired his jersey two years ago. … Jensen has scored three of the six goals in his career against Toronto. The defenseman did not score in 81 games last season and had four the previous season as a rookie.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Play at Washington on Saturday night.Red Wings: Play at Boston on Saturday.