NHL ROUNDUP

Flyers 5, Devils 2:

Travis Konecny and Morgan Frost scored 23 seconds apart in the second period to help host Philadelphia beat New Jersey and make coach John Tortorella a winner in his Flyers’ debut Thursday night.

Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, was the big offseason splash for a team coming off a last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. Tortorella promised no quick fixes for a franchise that has bottomed out and a team widely projected as among the worst in the NHL this season.

Konecny and Frost also scored in the third period. Wade Allison had a first-period goal and Carter Hart stopped 34 shots.

This game wasn’t exactly a marquee matchup on the schedule. The Devils posted a 2746-9 record last season and finished with 63 points, the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They haven’t made the playoff since 2018.

Sabres 4, Senators 1: Rasmus Dahlin and rookie JJ Peterka scored 2:54 apart in the second period, and host Buffalo rallied to beat Ottawa in the teams’ season opener.

Craig Anderson stopped 35 shots and Victor Olofsson sealed the victory by scoring two empty-net goals in the final 42 seconds.

Penguins 6, Coyotes 2: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang started their 17th season together with a bang, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins race by the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 on Thursday night.

The longtime franchise cornerstones combined for two goals and four assists as they joined former New York Yankee stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada as the longest-tenured trio of teammates in major North American professional sports history.

Crosby began his 18th season by scoring his 518th career goal 1:22 into the first period. The Pittsburgh captain also had two assists, including one on Malkin’s goal in the waning seconds of the second period.