The New Jersey Devils made it eight road wins in a row at the start of the NHL season as they beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2.

Goals from Zach Parise, David Clarkson and Andy Greene proved sufficient to defeat their hosts who replied via the sticks of Milan Michalek and Brian Lee.

The Carolina Hurricanes led the Columbus Blue Jackets heading into the third period but conceded three quickfire goals inside three minutes and went on to lose 3-2, a dismal 12th straight loss for the team.

Erik Cole had fired Carolina ahead in the first period, but the strikes from Nikita Filatov, Jared Boll and Rick Nash meant the later goal from Tim Gleason was just a consolation.

The Nashville Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1, while the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens by the same margin.

The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 7-4, helped by two goals from Tomas Fleischmann, while the Toronto Maple Leafs were comfortable against the Detroit Red Wings, winning 5-1.

Also winning on Saturday were the Boston Bruins, 4-2 against the Buffalo Sabres, and the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat the St Louis Blues 2-1 after a shoot-out.

The recently unpredictable New York Islanders got off to a good start, scoring three times in the first period on their way to a 6-3 win against the Atlanta Thrashers, while the Minnesota Wild edged a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3.

The Calgary Flames secured a 3-1 home win over the New York Rangers, while the San Jose Sharks obtained a 5-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins.