Finland had more than enough offensive talent to overcome its slow start against Austria, even with Teemu Selanne back in the dressing room. Jarkko Immonen and Mikael Granlund scored two goals apiece as Finland opened preliminary-round Olympic play with an 8-4 victory over Austria on Thursday. Jussi Jokinen and Petri Kontiola each had a goal and an assist for the Finns, who put 52 shots on beleaguered Austria goalie Bernhard Starkbaum despite playing the final two periods without Selanne, their captain and the leading scorer in Olympic history. The 43-year-old "Finnish Flash" had an assist in the first period of his record-equaling sixth Olympics before sitting out with an upper-body injury. Selanne should be fine for the Finns next game, team spokesman Janne Lahti said. "Hes an old man, so he needs some rest, more than the other guys," Kontiola said. Sami Lepisto and Olli Maatta also scored for Finland, which has never lost to Austria at the Olympics. Granlund had a three-point game and defenceman Sami Vatanen had three assists in their Olympic debuts. Selanne got just eight shifts before apparently having problems with his neck or shoulders. Finlands trainers massaged Selanne on the bench late in the first period, and he didnt return from the first break. "Maybe he got the bad pillow!" said Sami Vatanen, Selannes teammate with the Anaheim Ducks. Even with Selanne ailing, Finland took control with two goals in 8 seconds during the final minute of the first before taking a four-goal lead in the second. "Its tough to see him get injured, but hell be OK," Olli Jokinen said of Selanne. "Hes a big part of this team, and hes our leader. Its never easy when you lose a guy like him." Finns recover The Finns also survived a shaky Olympic debut from Tuukka Rask, the vaunted Boston Bruins goalie who yielded four goals on just 20 shots. "The first goal, everybody was caught sleeping there," Rask said. "After that second goal, everybody kind of woke up and got back to playing again." Michael Grabner had three goals in his Olympic debut for Austria. The New York Islanders forward scored 36 seconds into the first period, and Austria had two early leads before Finland took control. "In case we didnt know what we were up against, we got a reality check," Austrian forward Thomas Vanek said. "Youve got to play a certain way, and I think we didnt do it. Our goalie needs to be our best player, and we need to help him more." Finland is the most consistently successful Olympic nation of the NHL era while winning medals in four of the last five Olympics overall. The Finns have a solid shot at medals again despite placement in Canadas preliminary-round group, and an eight-goal performance in their opener will help their cause. Austria, which qualified for its first Olympics since 2002, surprised the Finns in the opening minute when Grabner converted a cross-ice pass from Michael Raffl. Granlund got Finlands first goal on a play set up by Selanne, who took Vatanens outlet pass and fed Granlund while screening Starkbaum. Austria went back ahead when Thomas Hundertpfunds shot from behind the net went off Maattas skate in front and beat Rask, but Lepisto equalized 2:04 later. Maatta put the Finns ahead with a vicious slap shot from the blue line with 35 seconds left in the first period — and Immonen scored 8 seconds later. Six Austrians are back from their Salt Lake City team along with the Olympic debuts of Grabner and Vanek, his Islanders teammate. Grabner added two goals in the third period for his hat trick. "I like the big ice, and I just tried to get into open space for my teammates," Grabner said. "Against a good team like Finland, its tough to come back." . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. [url=http://www.shopauthenticpatriotsonline.com/Women-Malcolm-Butler-Patriots-Je... Butler Womens Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. [url=http://www.shopauthenticpatriotsonline.com/Women-Patrick-Chung-Patriots-Jer... Chung Patriots Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.CALGARY -- Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan has taken a personal leave from the team following the death of his newborn son. The Flames said in a release that Emmerson Stajan died on Monday following childbirth. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Katie and Matt at this difficult time," the Flames said in a statement. &qquot;We appreciate that everyone has and will continue to respect their privacy during this period.dddddddddddd." Stajan signed a four-year extension with the Flames earlier this year. He has 10 goals and 13 assists in 52 games this season. 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