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Morning Skate: The NHL is back, and so are all the young stars you love
Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews wasted no time to get rolling, to the delight of us all.
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Lace ’em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
Honestly, if you were expecting Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid to do anything BUT score goals in their first games of the season, I don’t know what to tell you.
The stars of the NHL’s youth movement were active early and often in the NHL’s first game of the fledgling season. Matthews had three points in the Maple Leafs’ dominant 7-2 victory over the Jets. McDavid, naturally, had the Oilers’ first goal of the season early in their contest against the Flames, then he finished the night with a hat trick.
It was only a matter of time before McDavid, Matthews, and others got the legs working. Of course, stalwarts like Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux had big goals in big spots in their respective games, but the loudest noise came from the youngsters.
It’s really no surprise to see those two light up the scoreboard like they did Wednesday night. It’s likely the reason the NHL scheduled their respective teams to open the new season so they can showcase their talents to the wide sports world.
The only rising star to not have a stellar game was Patrik Laine, who was held to just one assist with two shots in 18 minutes of ice time. The Jets forward was not pleased with his efforts in Winnipeg’s mess of a loss, and for good reason. Winnipeg has a lot of questions facing their team after Wednesday, but Laine is still in line for quite a sophomore season.
While there were only four games to satisfy your hockey cravings on opening night, it’s no longer in doubt that this league is now owned by the youth movement.
One sentence recaps
- Maple Leafs 7, Jets 2: Steve Mason’s yips made Winnipeg’s home opener one to forget.
- Blues 5, Penguins 4 (OT): The defending champs are never out of a game, except when Alex Pietrangelo toe-drags you in in overtime.
- Oilers 3, Flames 0: McDavid was back at it again, folks.
- Flyers 5, Sharks 3: Kevin Labanc had two goals, but Wayne Simmonds had three — and that made all the difference.
More hockey
- The Penguins raised their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner to a lovely Pittsburgh crowd.
- Toronto had a bit of trouble with the basics in their opener, which included a penalty for Leo Komarov’s visor and Frederik Andersen’s goalie stick tape.
- The new season is filled with many questions for the Red Wings, whose season gets underway Thursday.
- The Colorado Avalanche placed Joe Colborne on waivers yesterday, as the veteran forward heads to the AHL for the season.
- We put up five bold predictions for the upcoming season, which you should read.
- And last but not least, our big annual season preview is ready for you to peruse as the rest of the league gets underway over the next few days.
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