RALEIGH, N.C. – Saku Koivu scored his second power-play goal of the game 1:05 into overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a season-opening 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

Mark Streit also scored and Andrei Markov had two assists for Montreal, which scored all three goals on the power play.

Moments after Niclas Wallin was called for cross-checking, the Canadiens worked the puck back to Koivu, who snapped the game-winner past Cam Ward’s glove side.

Erik Cole and Bret Hedican scored for Carolina, which began its 10th season in North Carolina by losing its fifth straight opener.

Koivu gave the Canadiens a short-lived 2-1 lead midway through the third period. Markov fed the puck from the blue line to a wide-open Koivu in the slot, and he wristed the puck high past Ward on the glove side.

The Hurricanes forced overtime 3 minutes later when Justin Williams left the puck for Hedican near the blue line, and he uncorked a slap shot that zipped past goalie Cristobal Huet.

Huet finished with 29 saves for Montreal. Ward, who lost 20 pounds this offseason and during a sharp preseason allowed two goals in 21/2 games, finished with 37 saves for the Hurricanes.

Both teams were eager to get the season started after coming off disappointing years in which they failed to make the playoffs. Montreal finished two points shy of a postseason berth while the Hurricanes were four points short.

The Canadiens’ most recent playoff appearance ended at Carolina’s hands, with the Hurricanes eliminating them during the first round of their march to the Stanley Cup in 2006.

This time, in their first chance to make up for that post-Cup flop, the Hurricanes wasted little time putting their maligned power play to work.

A unit that ranked 25th in the league last season converted on its first man-advantage opportunity just 31/2 minutes into the season. Eric Staal uncorked a one-timer from behind the right circle and Cole, positioned on the doorstep, redirected the blast past Huet for his 13th career goal against the Canadiens, his best total against any team.

Montreal tied it up later in the period with Streit one-timing a pass from Markov through traffic and past Ward.

Notes: Veteran D Roman Hamrlik’s first game with Montreal was the 1,000th of his career. He signed as a free agent after spending two seasons in Calgary and is just the fourth Czech-born player to reach that milestone. … Carolina entered having won 11 of its last 14 meetings with the Canadiens. … LW Cory Stillman (torso) was scratched for Carolina, missing the opener with an injury for the second straight year. … Montreal has won four of its last seven openers.

AP-ES-10-03-07 2150EDT