HELSINKI, Finland — Former Red Deer Rebels captain Brandon Sutter scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes held on to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in the opening game of the NHL season on Thursday. Anton Babchuk, back after a year in the Russian KHL, and Jussi Jokinen also scored for the Hurricanes. Brent Burns scored for Minnesota with 3:21 left, but Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward made a late save to preserve the win. Guillaume Latendresse and Matt Cullen also scored for Minnesota.
Former Rebels goalie Cam Ward came away with 29 saves, while Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom turned away 31 shots. The teams play again in Helsinki on Friday.