Taking a glance at the early season schedule, you have to wonder if the NHL calendar wizards messed up. The second night of the year featured three games with fascinating story lines and high entertainment factors. It could have easily been a great opening night for the league.
NHL scores 2015: Eichel shines in Sabres debut, Niemi shuts out Penguins
Thursday was a night of impressive debuts.
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
On one hand you had the debuts of Jack Eichel in Buffalo and Connor McDavid for Edmonton. They've been talked about and hyped for so long it felt like they would never actually hit the ice for real. But they did! And it was great. More on that in a minute.
On the other hand, Thursday featured a matchup between the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. Two teams who should end up as the highest scoring teams in the league. Two teams with two high-profile wingers making their debuts in Phil Kessel and Patrick Sharp. It was a game with an incredible amount of hockey skills on display.
And yet it still failed to match the attention-grabbing excitement of watching Eichel and McDavid for the first time. Neither played for a winning side, but that really wasn't the point anyway. McDavid looked incredibly dangerous, flashing the speed and awareness we were promised. And Eichel looked just as poised, even getting in position to score his first pro goal to send Sabres fans into various states of delirium.
Just another reminder that this season is going to be incredibly fun.
Scores
Senators 3, Sabres 1
Predators 2, Hurricanes 1
Stars 3, Penguins 0
3 things we learned
1. Boston’s defense did not inspire hope
Yeah. The Bruins might regret ever trading Dougie Hamilton. Boston's defense without Hamilton or Dennis Seidenberg and an aging Zdeno Chara did not impress at all in their season opener, surrendering six goals to the Winnipeg Jets. They were weak in their own zone and offered numerous ugly turnovers to the Jets in front of their own net. No one expects the Winnipeg offense to be "six goals a night" kind of productive, so what does that say about Boston's blue line?
2. Antti Niemi will push Kari Lehtonen this year
Everyone scoffed at Dallas paying more than $10 for two goaltenders this year. But considering how effectively the Stars defeated Pittsburgh with solid goaltending on Thursday that could be money well spent. Niemi was splendid in the Stars net, tracking pucks so well that even Phil Kessel couldn’t score from point-blank in the final minute. Kari Lehtonen might ride the pine more than he wishes if Niemi keeps this up.
3. 3-on-3 overtime is a no-holds barred, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride
We got our first look at the new overtime rules between the Flyers and Lightning, and goodness was it a beautiful chaotic mess. Goalies are going to hate it, but there’s no doubt it will reduce the amount of shootouts while turning many tightly-fought games into absolute track meets. It’s a welcome shot in the arm.
3A. Dude. Colorado. What happened, guys?
Avalanche are living up to their name tonight, in that they fell very quickly and without warning.
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) October 9, 2015
Impact Moment
Buffalo’s game was just about as forgettable as their games last season until Jack Eichel reminded their fans why they should look forward to the rest of the season. It’s going to be much more fun with this kid around.
Beautiful sounds. Jack Eichel's 1st goal. Our famous foghorn. Rick Jeanneret's call. New goal song. #NextChapter https://t.co/AiGTTKn9OE
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 9, 2015 Also, how about that awesome goal music?
Stat of the Night
Antti Niemi (two assists) has more points than Connor McDavid. Really makes you think.
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) October 9, 2015
Post to Post
- NHLers are already spearing each other in the groin. Stop it.
- Zach Parise scored a hat trick for the Wild!
- Alex Burmistrov celebrated returning to the NHL by elbowing an NHLer in the face.
- You will never be as happy about anything as Viktor Arvidsson was about scoring his first goal.
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