Devils beat Sabres 4-1 in NHL regular-season opener in Prague

PRAGUE (AP) — Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and Paul Cotter had an empty-netter and assist in their debuts with New Jersey as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.

After former NHL great Jaromir Jagr, who still plays in the Czech league, dropped a ceremonial puck, Stefan Noesen became the first scorer of the season 8:39 in to put New Jersey up. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, also making his Devils debut, made it 2-0, and then Nico Hischier scored early into the second before Owen Power got the Sabres on the scoreboard midway through the third. Cotter made it 4-1.

“Ultimately, the group just pulled together and wanted to compete at the high level tonight, and I think they got after it right from the start,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “From the opening face off we were all over the net within 10 seconds.”

The teams' series of games on Friday and Saturday is part of the NHL global series. Two more international games will be played in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2 when defending Stanley Cup champion Florida faces the Dallas Stars.

This is the 11th season the NHL has played in Europe as part of its efforts to grow the fan base in hockey-mad countries like the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and others.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for Buffalo.

The Sabres hope to end a 13-season playoff drought this year. Coach Lindy Ruff, who guided them to their last postseason in 2011, is back after he was fired by New Jersey. During his previous stint from 1997-2012, Buffalo advanced eight times and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1999.

“The start was probably the biggest difference in the hockey game,” Ruff said. “They were a step faster to loose pucks, they won more 50-50 battles early on and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

Devils: After failing to make the playoffs for the 10th time in 12 seasons, New Jersey had valuable contributions from newcomers. Keefe was hired in May after being fired by Toronto; Noesen was signed to the team after previously playing for New Jersey in 2016-19; Kovacevic was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, Cotter a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights and Markstrom a trade with the Calgary Flames.

Sabres: Buffalo was unable to take advantage of four power-play opportunities.

Before the puck dropped, players and spectators observed 13 seconds of silence to honor Johnny Gaudreau. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward was killed along with his brother Matthew on Aug. 29 while bicycling in New Jersey.

New Jersey gave up 283 goals last season, which was 27th out of 32 teams. The Devils believe Markstrom will help them in that category, and could be last year's missing piece to a playoff run.

“He’s come here for a reason, he wants to win,” Keefe said. “But also he’s an incredible person, a great character and personality.”

The teams will complete their series in Prague on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Buffalo Sabres' Owen Power, left, celebrates with Buffalo Sabres' Tage Thompson after scoring his side's first goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Paul Cotter scores his side's fourth goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey goaltender Devils' Jacob Markstrom watches the puck during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey goaltender Devils' Jacob Markstrom watches the puck during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Johnathan Kovacevic, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Stefan Noesen, right, and Buffalo Sabres' goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen battle for the puck during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Stefan Noesen, centre, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Stefan Noesen celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Screens show portraits of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau during a moment of silence before the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Buffalo Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, left, battles for the puck with New Jersey Devils' Tomas Tatar, second from right, during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey goaltender Devils' Jacob Markstrom watches the puck during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

New Jersey Devils' Stefan Noesen, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the NHL hockey game between Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the union stronghold of Flint, Michigan, on Friday as she battles with Donald Trump for working-class voters who could tip the scales in this year’s election.

Her appearance in the battleground state comes the day after U.S. dockworkers suspended their strike in hopes of reaching a new contract, sparing the country a damaging episode of labor unrest that could have rattled the economy.

Meanwhile, Trump is heading to Georgia to appear with Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest sign that he’s patched up his rocky relationship with the top Republican in a key battleground state.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

MADISON, Wis. — A federal judge has ordered a small town in northern Wisconsin to offer disabled people accessible voting systems.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Rusk County towns of Thornapple and Lawrence on Sept. 20 alleging that neither town had accessible voting systems for disabled people as required under federal law. Officials in both towns decided in 2023 to go to paper ballots only.

The lawsuit alleged that neither town had voting systems that disabled people could access as required under federal law for this year’s presidential primary on April 2 or for the Aug. 13 primary. Thornapple’s population is around 700 people and Lawrence is about 6,300 people.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson issued a preliminary injunction Friday that requires Thornapple officials to make sure every polling place in the Nov. 5 election has a voting system that disabled people can access. The systems must be plugged in, turned on and readily visible to voters, according to the order. The town also must post signs in every polling place alerting voters that the systems are ready for use.

The town’s attorney, Eric McLeod, didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment late Friday afternoon.

The Justice Department reached a settlement with Lawrence on Sept. 27 that calls for the town to make an accessible voting machine available at every polling place it operates in future federal elections and train staff on how to operate the equipment.

EVANS, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp cemented their newfound alliance Friday in Georgia as they both praised citizens and first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Trump and Kemp appeared in front of paper products, diapers and other relief supplies as they addressed reporters outside Augusta.

Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, said Kemp is doing a “fantastic job.” The GOP nominee again repeated his false assertions that President Joe Biden’s administration has not led a routine federal disaster response.

Trump mentioned the “big election” coming up and said if he wins Georgia will be treated well as it recovers.

Kemp and Trump spent several years at odds after the governor refused to help Trump overturn Biden’s 2020 victory. But they made up recently as part of Trump’s comeback effort and concerns among Republicans that the rift would help Democratic nominee Vice President Harris win the state.

President Joe Biden said Friday that he was confident the upcoming election would be free and fair - but he’s not sure it will be peaceful.

Biden made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room to discuss the strong jobs report that he called “incredible news,” and he took some questions. He was asked about how he was feeling about the upcoming election.

“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” he said. “The things that Trump has said - and the the things that he said last time, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election -- were very dangerous.”

Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen.

Biden was also asked, as he left the room, whether he was going to reconsider running for president.

“I’m back in” he joked, and the reporters all laughed.

Election experts during a virtual panel held by the National Task Force on Election Crises on Friday acknowledged that western North Carolina officials are still in the early phases of assessing how hurricane damage will affect voting.

The process has been delayed with bridges and roads compromised and emergency crews still actively working to rescue stranded residents and provide people with basic supplies, said Robert Orr, a retired North Carolina Supreme Court Justice who co-leads the North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe and Secure Elections.

Paying for last-minute election changes could pose a challenge, Orr said. Most North Carolina election funding happens locally, and most county election budgets are already diminished because they had to reprint ballots to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name, he said.

Most North Carolina residents are still focused on basic survival and recovery over voting, said Anne Tindall, special counsel of the nonprofit Protect Democracy.

Four people intentionally voted twice in Michigan’s summer primary election, the state attorney general said Friday as she announced felony charges against the suburban Detroit residents as well as public employees accused of enabling it to happen.

Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against the St. Clair Shores residents as well as three assistant clerks who are accused of enabling it to happen. Nessel called it “shocking and simply unheard of.” Nessel said four people who had already cast absentee ballots for the Aug. 6 primary showed up to vote in St. Clair Shores on the day of the election.

It’s possible to cancel an absentee ballot but not on Election Day.

The extra votes did not affect race results, she said.

Casey and Biden are allies and friends. Biden hasn’t done much campaigning since he left the 2024 race over the summer and Vice President Kamala Harris replaced him at the top of the ticket.

The president will also travel to Wisconsin where he’ll talk about efforts by his administration to replace lead pipes. That’s something Biden has continued to do — talk publicly about his administration’s successes and his record in office. He has told his team to “run through the tape.”

Elon Musk will join Donald Trump at his rally Saturday in Butler, the Pennsylvania city where the Republican presidential nominee survived an assassination attempt earlier this year.

“I will be there to support!” Musk wrote on his social platform X on Thursday in a retweet of Trump’s own promotion of the rally. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO will be among special guests in attendance, Trump’s campaign confirmed Friday.

The event will mark the first time the billionaire businessman appears publicly at a campaign event for the former president since endorsing him. Musk has supercharged his support for Trump in recent months and has become personally more invested in politics — even agreeing to lead a government efficiency commission if Trump wins reelection.

Saturday’s rally will take place at the same property where a gunman’s bullets grazed Trump’s right ear and killed his supporter, Corey Comperatore. The shooting left multiple others injured.

The Democratic presidential nominee has already been to Georgia, where she helped distribute meals and spoke with families in Augusta. More than 200 people died in the powerful storm that spread out across the Southeast, causing devastation. President Joe Biden, too, has traveled to areas hard-hit by the storm.

From Georgia, Harris said she and Biden have been paying attention “from the beginning to what we need to do to make sure the federal resources hit the ground as quickly as possible, and that includes what was necessary to make sure that we provided direct federal assistance. And that work has been happening.”

Their travel comes as Republican Donald Trump is falsely claiming the federal government wasn't doing enough to help affected people in Republican areas. Biden was angered by the suggestion, calling it a lie. He said partisan politics should not be part of this conversation.

Former President Barack Obama is planning to hit key swing states to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the White House, starting on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

The Harris campaign says Obama will travel around the country over the final 27 days ahead of the election. It noted that the former president and Harris have a friendship that goes back 20 years, from when they first met while he was running for Senate.

Harris was also an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 presidential bid and knocked on doors for him in Iowa ahead of its caucus that led off voting in the Democratic primary.

In his speech at the Democratic convention in August, Obama said Harris “wasn’t born into privilege. She had to work for what she’s got.”

“And she actually cares about what other people are going through,” the former president added then.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances at a campaign event at the Ryder Center at Saginaw Valley State University, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in University Center, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she arrives on Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Mich., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)