The NHL paid tribute to a couple of fallen Canadian soldiers in a co-ordinated pre-game ceremony in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, while Sidney Crosby and Joel Ward of Canada led the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, respectively, to victory.

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Uniting a nation

Prior to puck drop across Canada, the NHL paid tribute to two fallen soldiers. The rousing tribute to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent occurred simultaneously at Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre, Montreal's Bell Centre, and Toronto's Air Canada Centre. It was the first game action for all three teams since Cirillo was killed by a gunman at the National War Memorial on Wednesday. Two days earlier, Vincent was killed and another soldier was injured when a man deliberately drove a car into them in the parking lot of a federal building near Montreal. During the first intermission, Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry challenged Canadians to step up and support the military during his Coach's Corner segment.

Price shuts door on Rangers

Goaltender Carey Price made 34 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers. The win vaulted the 7-1-0 Canadiens to top spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference. Price improved to 6-1-0 on the young season with a 2.67 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty scored for Montreal, which avenged a loss to the Rangers in the Eastern Conference final last spring. Carl Hagelin had the lone goal for New York, which had its win streak halted at three and saw its season record drop to 4-4-0.

Hamilton steps up in Chara's absence