Isles beat Blues to give Gordon first NHL victory

Scott Gordon picked up his first win as an NHL head coach behind the strong play of backup goaltender Joey MacDonald, as the New York Islanders won their home opener over the St. Louis Blues, 5-2. With regular netminder Rick DiPietro on the bench nursing his surgically repaired hip, MacDonald saved 24-of-26 shots to pick up the win for New York, which dropped its season opener to the Devils on Friday. Mike Comrie, Trent Hunter, Sean Bergenheim and Andy Hilbert scored in the first period for the Isles. Offseason acquisition Chris Mason made his Blues debut and yielded four goals on 33 shots. Keith Tkachuk and Brad Boyes scored for St. Louis, which was coming off a five-goal performance in a season-opening win over the Predators. A four-goal first period was more than enough for New York. After a Blues turnover behind the net,... [read full story]