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NASHVILLE -- Eric Nystrom almost felt sorry for Wild goalie Josh Harding coming off the bench to defend a penalty shot. http:///...s-grun-hot-rosa.html . Almost. Nystrom scored his first career penalty shot at 11:14 of the first period for the game-winner Tuesday night and the Nashville Predators earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild in their home opener. "You couldnt have scripted it any better to score a goal like that, kind of dramatic fashion and ended up being the game winner against your former team," Nystrom said. "It was pretty exciting. It was fun to play here and get our first win of the season." Nystrom spent the 2010-11 season with Minnesota and said he had some "unfortunate circumstances" with the team. He went to Dallas and signed with Nashville this off-season. He got the penalty shot when tripped on a breakaway, sending him crashing into Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom. The goalie left the game with a lower body injury, and the Wild said Backstrom will be evaluated Wednesday. Wild coach Mike Yeo said he hadnt talked to the trainer yet when he spoke with reporters after the game. That left Nystrom with a couple of minutes waiting to shoot, but the Predators forward had plenty of experience shooting against replacement Josh Harding during his lone year with the Wild. "He goes in and his first shot against is a penalty shot ice-cold, thats a tough situation for any goalie," Nystrom said. "But it felt pretty good." Filip Forsberg and Colin Wilson also scored power-play goals 39 seconds apart in the first period as the Predators matched the goals they had totalled in losing the first two games. Goalie Pekka Rinne made 32 saves as Nashville started a five-game homestand with the win. "Its always nice to win the first one and try to build some confidence, some good things and keep moving forward when were at home because were going to be on the road quite a while," Nashville captain Shea Weber said. Zach Parise scored a power-play goal, and Jared Spurgeon also scored for the Wild who remain winless through three games. "Weve got to find a way to win," Wild defenceman Keith Ballard said. Now that these teams are in the Central Division after realignment, these games mean much more than just the chance to boo former Nashville defenceman Ryan Suter who went to Minnesota as a free agent in July 2012 for a 13-year, $98 million deal. A sellout crowd booed Suter every time he was on the ice yet again. Nashville coach Barry Trotz said Suter told him he thought his old coach liked him. Trotz responded that he has no control over the fans in Section 303. "Hes playing for the enemy now," Trotz said. The Wild went up 1-0 on a tip-in by Parise off a shot by Mikko Koivu off a cross-ice pass from Suter, taking advantage of a high-sticking penalty on rookie defenceman Seth Jones at 4:15 of the first. But Kyle Brodziak went to the penalty box for interference against David Legwand at 4:15 followed by Koivu for tripping Jones 21 seconds later. The Predators made the Wild pay for the 5-on-3 with Forsberg scoring his first career NHL goal at 5:07 on a snap shot from the left circle off assists from Patric Hornqvist and Jones, with the rookie getting his first point. "Hes got those magic hands," Trotz said of Forsberg. "Hes slippery in tight spaces and as he keeps growing as a player I think youre going to see some of those qualities come out." Then Wilson went high over Backstroms stick for his first goal of the season from the right circle at 5:46 for a 2-1 lead. Ballard tripped Nystrom on a breakaway, and the Predators forward crashed into Backstrom, pushing the goalies right leg into the post. A trainer walked out to Backstrom, who skated slowly to the bench before going to the locker room. Backstrom tied for the NHL lead with 24 wins last season and is Minnesotas franchise leader in wins, shutouts, shutout streak, games played, starts and minutes played. "I give Harding credit," Yeo said. "Thats a really difficult situation to come into and giving up the goal that way, and then he battled hard all game in net. "So I give him an awful lot of credit and I give our guys credit too because it would have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves." The Wild pulled within 3-2 when Spurgeon scored his first this season on a power play with a wrister past Rinne at 7:26, and his goal came with 1 second left on the man advantage after Forsberg went to the box for hooking. But the Wild couldnt beat Rinne again. Notes: The Predators are 2 for 11 with the man advantage this season. ... Nashville last scored three goals in a period April 2, 2013, against Colorado in the third period. ... Nashville went 7-1-3 last season when leading after the first period. ... Nystroms penalty shot was the ninth in Predators history and his first goal for Nashville. ... Koivus assist gave him 400 career NHL points. ... Seven of the past eight games between these teams have been one-goal games. ... Harding is 1 for 2 against penalty shots in his career. Nike Roshe Run Dynamic Flywire . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Nike Roshe One Print Blumen . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. http:///...blau-677243-003.html . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat.CALGARY -- Canadian womens skeleton racer Sarah Reid shrugged her shoulders at the World Cup finish line Friday after just missing out on a chance to lock up a spot for the Sochi Games. About an hour later, Reid was sporting an Olympic-sized grin. The winner had been disqualified after the race due to a sled handle violation. That moved everyone up one position and put Reid into sixth place, which allowed her to book her ticket to Sochi. "Its crazy," Reid said. "I feel like it hasnt really sunk in yet." American Noelle Pikus-Pace finished first in the womens race in one minute 54.88 seconds but her disqualification gave the gold to Britains Elizabeth Yarnold, who finished 0.16 seconds behind. Russias Elena Nikitina earned silver in 1:55.28 and Michelle Steele of Australia took bronze in 1:55.30. Eric Neilson of Kelowna, B.C., also booked his Olympic ticket with a fifth-place result in the mens race at Canada Olympic Park. Neilson also said the Sochi news hasnt sunk in. "Not even close," he said with a laugh. "I dont know if Ill actually believe it until the coaches say, This is our Olympic team. Eric Neilson youre on it -- go." There will be two more World Cup events before the Olympic skeleton roster is officially unveiled Dec. 18. Racers need four top-six finishes over two seasons to qualify for the Sochi Games, but at least one has to come in the current campaign. Bobsledders Jesse Lumsden and Chris Spring reached the podium later in the evening, winning bronze in the two-man event. "I think we both agree were happy, were not satisfied," Lumsden said. "My goal as a pusher is to help Chris have top-three starts every race all year long. So this was a great way to set the tone." Lumsden, from Burlington, Ont., and Spring, from Calgary, were third in 1:49.42. Americans Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton won gold in 1:49.22, just 0.16 seconds ahead of Switzerlands Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann. In the mens skeleton, Martin Dukurs of Latvia set a track record of 55.31 seconds on his second run and earned the mens gold with a two-run time of 1:51.39. Dukurs was well ahead of Alexander Tretiakov of Russia, who finished in 1:52.14. Britains Dominic Edward Parsons won bronze in 1:52.74. Neilson tied his career-best finish at a World Cup. He finished fourth at the world championships last season. Dukurs trimmed over four-10ths of a second off the previous track record (55.72) set by Canadas Jeff Pain in February 2005. The Latvian won the overall World Cup title last season. The track push record also fell Friday. Tretiakovs first start time of 4.75 seconds was a shade better than his previous best of 4. Nike Roshe LD-1000 SP. 76 from November 2005. The Russian improved his mark again with a 4.71 in the second run. Calgary-based racers Dave Greszczyszyn and John Fairbairn also finished in the top 10. Greszczyszyn was sixth in his World Cup debut in 1:53.06 and Fairbairn was ninth in 1:53.17. In the womens race, officials ruled that Pikus-Pace violated Rule 14.5 by racing with additional handles on her sled. Heinz Thoma, a FIBT World Cup co-ordinator, said another team first noticed the violation and pointed it out to an official. "They look at each other carefully," Thoma said. "Were on the way to (the) Olympics." The FIBT is the sanctioning body for bobsled and skeleton. The sled was inspected and the official results were released about an hour after the race finish. Thomas said about one-third of the sleds are usually inspected after a race, adding that violations occur from time to time. He couldnt recall the last time a violation affected a World Cup race winner. Pikus-Pace later told The Associated Press that the British team complained about an extra piece of tape that was wrapped around the handle. The sled -- and the tape -- had both been approved for competition earlier in the week, Pikus-Pace said, and U.S. officials were appealing the disqualification. "Clearly, clearly, I should not have been disqualified," Pikus-Pace told the AP in a phone interview. "Im so frustrated. People get away with whatever and I get disqualified for a piece of tape? A piece of tape that they said was OK? It has no competitive advantage whatsoever." Rule 14.5 states that the saddle handles must be mounted on the construction frame, and that "no additional handles, howsoever they are constructed, are permitted on the saddle." A race official said later in the evening that the appeal would not be entertained and that the decision was final. Reid, who won bronze at the 2013 world championship, was just over a half-second off the lead with a time of 1:55.56. Calgarys Robynne Thompson was eighth and Cassie Hawrysh of Brandon, Man., was 10th. Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta., and 2010 Olympic champion Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man., will open the season on the Intercontinental Cup circuit. Athletes can qualify for Sochi while competing on that circuit or at the World Cup level. Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask., and Calgarys Lascelles Brown were eighth in the two-man bobsled. Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C., and Bryan Barnett of Calgary were 12th. The four-man bobsled and womens bobsled events were set for Saturday. Cheap JerseysWholesale Jerseys Wholesale JerseysCheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys' ' '