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SUNRISE, Fla. -- Not long after the Florida Panthers paid tribute to their past, Jonathan Huberdeau offered a glimpse of their future. Huberdeaus first NHL shot resulted in his first NHL goal and opened an early Florida scoring barrage, as the Panthers unfurled their Southeast Division championship banner and went on to ease past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 in the opener for both clubs on Saturday night. Huberdeau finished with a goal and two assists, as did linemate Alex Kovalev, whos played in 1,302 more games than the highly touted rookie forward. "Youve all heard a lot about Jonathan Huberdeau and I think you got a pretty good snapshot of his high-end skill set tonight," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "A coach always picks out little things that you can work on here, but that was a fairly impressive debut, to say the least." Jose Theodore stopped 41 shots for Florida. Defenceman Bryan Campbell scored twice for the Panthers, who matched a franchise record with four first-period goals -- more than they posted in any period of any game since Dec. 17, 2010, according to STATS. "Huberdeau, for his first NHL game, has been great," said newly minted Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski. The 19-year-old opened the floodgates, for certain. Only a few minutes after the Panthers pregame ceremony included a tribute to longtime season-ticket-holders and the unfurling of last seasons banner, Huberdeau -- the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 draft -- was the beneficiary of some gritty work by Kovalev and Peter Mueller on the way to that first goal. Kovalev carried the puck up the left wing, muscled it behind the net to Mueller, who saw Huberdeau was unmarked in front of the Hurricanes net. He smacked the puck past Cam Wards stick side for the first Florida goal of the season. "Mueller and Kovalev, theyre easy to play with," said Huberdeau, who wore a red felt cowboy-style hat -- replete with a white feather, this seasons prize that the Panthers will award to the player they choose as the star of wins -- after the game. "I just went in front of the net, they pass me the puck and I just need to put it in." The celebrations came en masse for the next few minutes. Campbell -- whose only other two-goal game came in November 2005 -- added a pair of power-play scores over a 10-minute span to push Floridas lead to 3-0. Scottie Upshall had another man-advantage goal 40 seconds after Campbells second tally, and the Panthers needed only 11 shots to build a 4-0 edge. "Its good to get off to that start," Campbell said. "Weve got to keep applying pressure." Kovalev made it 5-0 at 3:35 of the second, his first NHL regular-season goal since March 29, 2011. Patrick Dwyer scored for Carolina. The Hurricanes starting goaltender Cam Ward was pulled following the first period, after stopping just eight of the 12 shots he faced. "We put ourselves behind the eight-ball early on," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "Its the sloppy things we need to work on." And whatever the Hurricanes tried to do against Theodore, the Panthers goalie was up to the task. "We didnt come out as hard as wed like," Carolinas Jordan Staal said. "It was a little bit of nerves coming out. They capitalized on our mistakes. When youre down 4-0 its hard to come back. ... We had the juices flowing before the game and we were excited but it was a few big mistakes early and that took the wind out of our sails." It was the Panthers first time on the ice since falling in a double-overtime Game 7 first-round matchup against eventual Stanley Cup finalist New Jersey last season, and it wasnt clear what effect the lockout would have on a so-called non-traditional hockey market such as Florida. The Panthers said the game was a sellout -- no small feat for hockey in South Florida, especially since the schedule wasnt released until a week before the start to the shortened season -- and team president Michael Yormark said the teams business side handled hockeys work stoppage well. "Coming out of the playoffs, after losing Game 7, granted we were all disappointed that we didnt get to the second round," Yormark said. "But when we had time to reflect, we said, You know what, we took a big step forward." With most of last seasons roster back -- and the additions of players such as Huberdeau and Kovalev -- the Panthers are hoping last season serves as just the start of a hockey renaissance in South Florida. "A real team effort for us tonight," Dineen said. "Good, satisfying win." NOTES: It was Floridas 33rd straight win when scoring five goals in regulation, a streak that began in January 2009. ... Ward has started against Florida 28 times, and allowed at least four goals in eight of those games. ... Florida has won six of its past seven matchups with Carolina, a stretch that includes an overtime and a shootout victory. ... Dineen is a former Carolina player; Muller is a former Florida player. Wholesale Jerseys Paypal . "Releasing Scott was not an easy decision but I need to do what I think is best for the future of the Edmonton Rush," said Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap .E.I. - Edmontons Heather Nedohin defeated Winnipegs Jennifer Jones 5-2 on Wednesday at the $370,000 Sun Life Financial Players Championship curling tournament. http://pavansukhdev.org/wholesalejerseys.html . A campaign that opened with a league-record nine-game losing streak is ending with a winless string that could stretch to 14 if Toronto (5-20-8) stumbles Sunday in Columbus.NEW YORK -- David Stern took the NBA around the globe in nearly three decades as commissioner, turning what was a second-rate league into a projected $5-billion-a-year industry. Now, confident a worthy successor is in place with a labour deal that will ensure the games continued growth, Stern is ready to stay home. Stern will retire as commissioner Feb. 1, 2014, 30 years to the day after taking charge of the league, ending one of the most successful and impactful careers in sports history. He will be replaced by Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. "I dont know what else to say other than to recite what I told the owners yesterday in executive session," Stern said Thursday during a press conference after the board of governors meetings. "I told them that its been a great run, it will continue for another 15 months, that the league is in, I think, terrific condition." Stern is the one who got it there, turning a league with little-to-no TV presence -- the NBA Finals were on tape delay in the early 1980s -- into one thats televised live in 215 countries and is pro sports leader in digital and social media. He has been perhaps the model sports commissioner. Name an important policy in the NBA -- drug testing, salary cap, even a dress code -- and Stern had a hand in it. A lawyer by trade, he was a fearless negotiator against players and referees, but also their biggest defender any time he felt they were unfairly criticized. "For all the things youve done for the NBA and for sports generally, I think theres no doubt that youll be remembered as the best of all-time as commissioners go and youve set the standard, I think not even just for sports league commissioners, but for CEOs in any industry," Silver told Stern sitting to his left on a podium. Stern told owners of his plans during their two days of meetings, and the board unanimously decided Silver would be his successor. Owners will begin negotiations with the 50-year-old Silver in hopes of having a contract completed by their next meeting in April. Stern, who turned 70 last month, became commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. He has been the NBAs longest-serving commissioner, establishing the leagues brand around the world, presiding over team expansion and overseeing the establishment of the WNBA and the NBA Development League. "There is no debate that David Stern has earned his spot in the pantheon of sports commissioners. Deservedly, his name and reputation will always be synonymous with the phenomenal growth and success of the NBA over the last three decades," union executive director Billy Hunter said in a statement. "His absence will surely be felt by anyone connected to the NBA and the sport of basketball, although clearly the league will be left in very capable hands with the appointment of Adam Silver as the next commissioner." Seven franchises have been added under Stern and the league has seen a 30-fold increase in revenues. Stern insisted the NBA have a presence on social media, and the league and players have more than 270 million likes and followers on Facebook and Twitter. "There are all kinds of other business metrics we could look at that would define David as one of the great business leaders of our time," Silver said. Stern said he decided on his plans about six months ago, having guided the league through a lockout that ended last December. He didnt want to leave until the labour deal was completed or until he was confident there was a successor in place, and both are done. Silver has worked at the NBA for 20 years and been the leagues No. 2 since 2006, and both Stern and league owners praise his abilities. "A couple of things that stand out to me is that David has been, in my estimation, the type of commissioner that has set the standard not only for the NBA but for all of the sports," said Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, the outgoing chairman of the board of governors. "We have done so many wonderful things in the organization. The marketing, leadership, the brand recognition, goingg international way before our times, and David has led that.ddddddddddddquot; Taylor said theres been a "40-fold" increase in revenues from the leagues national TV contract, and that the average player salary will have had grown from $250,000 when Stern took over to $5 million by the end of the current collective bargaining agreement. Stern was the leagues outside counsel from 1966-78, then its general counsel before becoming executive vice-president of business and legal affairs from 1980-84. He replaced Larry OBrien to become the leagues fourth commissioner, getting a boost in taking the game mainstream with the popularity of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and soon Michael Jordan. The league began marketing its stars, and Stern found the desire for them was greatest in some far-away lands. The real explosion came in 1992, when those three headed the Dream Team that led the U.S. to the Olympic basketball gold medal while winning fans around the world. The NBA has gone on to play games in 17 countries, staging 114 international games. "Hes done a remarkable job," Major League Baseball Commission Bud Selig said at the World Series. "To think of what the NBA was when he came in and what it is today, most people judge him very, very highly." There were rough patches, particularly the brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans in 2004, and the betting scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy. Stern had already passed off most of the heavy lifting to Silver by last year, but he was the one absorbing the criticism during the lockout for the second shortened season in his tenure. He sometimes appeared worn down during the negotiations, even missing one critical bargaining session while sick, but insists hes got plenty of energy to keep working now. "I feel great," Stern said. "Im enjoying my job, but Im looking forward to doing some other things. Im stepping down, Im not retiring." Stern just recently returned from China, Germany and Italy, and plans another overseas trip next season, and will remain an adviser to the league in retirement on international matters. "We just think that his leadership will be important to our future," Taylor said. Its meant everything to the leagues past. The league has reported huge increases in ticket and merchandise sales, and TV ratings are at an all-time high. Last seasons lockout, the second time the league lost games to a work stoppage, hardly made a dent in the leagues business or in fans interest. But even for Stern, business has always taken a back seat to basketball. Hes sought changes to improve the product on the court, such as the elimination of isolation play that bored him, to implementing penalties that go into effect this season for flopping. "For the most part its been a series of extraordinary experiences and enormous putting together of pieces of a puzzle and it goes on forever," Stern said. "And there will always be another piece of the puzzle and so the question is at what point do you decide that, let someone else do it? Thats the point that Im at now." Taylor and Spurs owner Peter Holt, who is replacing him as board chairman, said the owners will work to have a contract with Silver by April. Silver, who served a variety of positions before becoming deputy commissioner, was the lead negotiator during the lockout and Stern has relied more heavily on him in recent years, even turning to Silver to answer questions on tougher topics. Stern said he wouldnt leave until he knew there was a successor ready, and he has repeatedly said Silver is ready for that role. Stern said he would always remain available to take a call and help the league. "Life is a journey and its been a spectacular journey," Stern said. "Each step along the way there are things that you have to do, things that you maybe wish you hadnt done. But I dont keep that list, and so Im totally pleased and Im particularly pleased with the transition of which were now embarking." ' ' '