Dubinsky Shines In Preseason Debut

Doesn't really looked like Brandon Dubinsky fell behind the curve during the eight or so days of training camp he missed before signing a new 2-year deal with the NHL's New York Rangers.

Dubinsky made his exhibition game debut tonight and all he did was set up Chris Higgins' game-winning goal with 70 seconds left to snag a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals.

Dubinsky, a fourth-year pro entering his third NHL season, played the third period between wingers Marian Gaborik and Higgins -- that's first-line stuff. In 17:43 of ice time, he skated on the power play and killed penalties, delivered three hits and won 11 of 17 face-offs for a 65-percent winning efficiency.

On the Caps' side, former UAA center Jay Beagle fired won shot and won 3 of 7 draws in 8:02 of ice.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Carle of Anchorage scored his club's first goal and was +1 in a 2-1 OT win over New Jersey. Carle played 27:46 -- he's logged a ton of ice in most exhibition games this fall -- fired three shots and blocked four shots.

Montreal Canadiens center Scott Gomez got stopped on his club's final shootout attempt in a 2-1 loss to visiting Boston. Gomez fired a game-high seven shots in 20:46, but continued to have preseason troubles in the face-off circle, winning just 7 of 17 draws (41 percent).