Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

10/08/2015 at 10:29am EDT

ROAD TEAMS DOMINATE OPENING NIGHT . . .
Road clubs spoiled opening night of the 2015-16 season, with the Canadiens, Rangers, Canucks and Sharks picking up victories in Toronto, Chicago, Calgary and Los Angeles, respectively.

Last season, road teams won three of the four games contested on opening night(including victories by the Canadiens, Canucks and Sharks). Overall, they posted a combined 564-505-161 record (.524 points percentage) during the regular season.

. . . AS NEW CAPTAINS LEAD THE WAY
A pair of newly named captains led their clubs to victories in their first games with the “C.”

* Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty (2-0—2), who was named the 29th captain in franchise history, scored the first goal of the NHL season just 3:09 after the opening face-off and added an insurance marker in the final minute of regulation.

* Sharks forward Joe Pavelski (1-2—3), who was named the ninth captain in franchise history, recorded the go-ahead goal late in the first period and collected a pair of assists, including the primary helper on Brent Burns’ insurance goal at the start of the second frame.

MAPLE LEAFS (SUCCESSFULLY) USE FIRST COACH’S CHALLENGE
At 6:35 of the second period, Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock used the first Coach’s Challenge in NHL history, challenging whether Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec interfered with goaltender Jonathan Bernier prior to Jeff Petry’s shot crossing the goal line.

The referee determined that Plekanec interfered with Bernier and, in accordance with Rule 78.7, overturned the original on-ice call. Since the Coach’s Challenge resulted in the original call being overturned, the Maple Leafs retained their timeout.

BLACKHAWKS RAISE SIXTH STANLEY CUP BANNER
The Blackhawks raised their sixth Stanley Cup championship banner, and third in the past six seasons, prior to their game against the Rangers. New York, however, spoiled the ceremony with a 3-2 victory, marking the eighth time in the last 10 years that the defending Stanley Cup champion lost its season opener (2-6-2).

Click here to watch the full ceremony.

DÉJÀ VU FOR PACIORETTY, CANADIENS
Max Pacioretty (2-0—2) scored the first goal of the NHL season on Montreal’s opening shot of the game to lead the Canadiens past the Maple Leafs in their seventh consecutive season-opening meeting.

* Pacioretty, who played in his 400th NHL game, also recorded the opening goal of the 2014-15 season on Montreal’s first shot of the game (at TOR vs. Jonathan Bernier). He has 13-7—20 in his last 22 games against the Maple Leafs.

* Via Elias, P.K. Subban (0-3—3) became the first Canadiens defenseman to post three assists/points in a season-opening game since Oct. 9, 1986 (Gaston Gingras: 0-3—3 at TOR).

* Alex Galchenyuk scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:58 remaining in the third period, his sixth career game-winning goal.

* Overall, the Canadiens won their seventh consecutive game against the Maple Leafs dating to March 1, 2014.

RANGERS SPOIL BLACKHAWKS’ BANNER-RAISING CEREMONY
The Rangers scored three first-period goals, including the eventual decisive tally by Derek Stepan in the final minute of the frame, to spoil the Blackhawks’ banner-raising ceremony and win their third consecutive visit to United Center dating to Jan. 8, 2014.

* Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves to improve to 6-1-2 in nine career appearances against the Blackhawks (1.98 GAA, .935 SV%).

* Lundqvist started his 10th consecutive season-opening game for the Rangers dating to 2006-07 (6-3-1, 2.49 GAA, .916 SV%). Ed Giacomin is the only other goaltender in franchise history to accomplish that feat; he started 11 straight season-opening games for the Rangers from 1965-75.

* The Rangers improved 151-1-9 in their last 161 regular-season games when leading after two periods (dating to Feb. 6, 2010 vs. NJD). That includes a 36-0-1 record since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

CANUCKS ENACT MEASURE OF REVENGE AGAINST FLAMES
Three players – Daniel Sedin (1-2—3), Alexandre Burrows (1-1—2) and Brandon Sutter (1-1—2) – registered multiple points to lead the Canucks past the Flames in their first meeting since the opening round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a six-game series victory by Calgary.

* Henrik Sedin also scored for the Canucks. He (3-12—15) and brother Daniel (4-11—15) both have 15 points in 15 career season-opening games.

* Sutter, who was acquired by the Canucks in an offseason trade, posted the game-winning goal. He has 17 such goals in his career (496 GP), including four last season with the Penguins.

* The Canucks improved to 10-2-0 in their last 12 regular-season games against the Flames dating to April 6, 2013, including a 5-1-0 record at Scotiabank Saddledome.

SHARKS (AGAIN) CRASH OPENING NIGHT IN LOS ANGELES
Joe Pavelski registered 1-2—3 and Martin Jones made 19 saves in his return to STAPLES Center to start the Sharks’ 25th anniversary season with a victory.

* The Sharks won on opening night at STAPLES Center for the second consecutive season. In 2014-15, the team spoiled the Kings’ banner-raising ceremony with a 4-0 victory.

* The Sharks also won their sixth consecutive season-opening game, the longest active streak in the NHL, and improved to 8-1-1 in their past 10 such contests.

* Pavelski, who ranked second in the NHL with a career-high 19 power-play goals in 2014-15, scored his first of the season via the man-advantage. Overall, he ranks second in the League with 79 total goals since the start of 2013-14, behind Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (104).

* Jones, who began his career with the Kings after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent, earned the win in his return to Los Angeles. He spent the past two seasons with the Kings, compiling a 16-11-2 record in 34 appearances (1.99 GAA, .923 SV%, 7 SO).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi and Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin both scored their first NHL goals while making their League debuts. Rangers forward Oscar Lindbergalso recorded his first NHL goal (2 GP).

* Canucks teammates Ben Hutton (0-1—1) and Jared McCann both made their NHL debuts.

* Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (0-2—2) played in his 671st NHL game (all w/ SJS), tying Mike Rathje for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.

* Mike Babcock (TOR) and Peter DeBoer (SJS) both made their head-coaching debuts with their new clubs.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Oilers announced that they will use four alternate captains this season – defensemanAndrew Ference and forwards Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins . . . The Blues signed forward Scott Gomez to a one-year contract . . . ICYMI: Members of MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays received a standing ovation at Air Canada Centre on the eve of their first playoff game in 22 years . . . The NHL, led by Commissioner Gary Bettman, rang the NYSE Opening Bell this morning to celebrate the start of the 2015-16 season.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Winnipeg @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., TSN3, NESN
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., TSN5, RDS, MSG-B, BELL TV
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., TVAS2, CSN-PH, SUN
Edmonton @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., SN360, FS-MW
Carolina @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., FS-CR, FS-TN
Pittsburgh @ Dallas, 8:30 p.m., ROOT, FS-SW
Minnesota @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., NBCSN
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

McDAVID, EICHEL MAKE NHL DEBUTS
The top two picks from the 2015 NHL Draft both make their highly anticipated debuts on Thursday:

* Forward Connor McDavid, the No. 1 overall selection, skates in his first NHL game when the Oilers visit the Blues at Scottrade Center. The 18-year-old center spent the past three seasons with the Erie Otters (OHL), recording 97-188—285 in 166 games. That includes 44-76—120 (all career highs) in just 47 games in 2014-15 as well as 21-28—49 in 20 playoff appearances.

* Forward Jack Eichel, the No. 2 overall selection, also makes his first NHL appearance when the Sabres play host to the Senators at First Niagara Center. The 18-year-old center won the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s most outstanding player, as a freshman in 2014-15 after leading the NCAA with 26-45—71 in 40 games with the Boston University Terriers. He became the first freshman to win the award since Paul Kariya in 1993.

LIGHTNING BEGIN QUEST FOR RETURN TO FINAL
The Lightning, the reigning Eastern Conference champions, begin their season when they welcome the Flyers to Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay made its second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, losing to Chicago in six games. The club returns nearly all of its roster from last season, led by Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop. Meanwhile, Dave Hakstol will make his NHL head-coaching debut behind Philadelphia’s bench. The 19th head coach in franchise history, Hakstol spent the past 11 seasons at the University of North Dakota, where he compiled a 289-143-11 record and led the team to the NCAA tournament in each of his seasons.

RETOOLED PENGUINS, STARS FACE OFF IN DALLAS
A pair of revamped teams face off when the Penguins visit the Stars at American Airlines Center. Pittsburgh retooled its offense with the offseason acquisitions of forwards Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Eric Fehr. Dallas, meanwhile, added forwardPatrick Sharp and defenseman Johnny Oduya from Chicago while also shoring up its goaltending with the acquisition of Antti Niemi from San Jose. These clubs have split their past six meetings dating Nov. 11, 2011 (PIT: 3-3-0, DAL 3-2-1).

CENTRAL DIVISION RIVALS COLLIDE IN DENVER
A pair of Central Division rivals collide in their season openers when the Wild face the Avalanche at Pepsi Center in a national broadcast on NBCSN. These clubs boast the top season-opening records in NHL history (by points percentage) entering 2015-16 – Minnesota is 8-4-2 (.643) and Colorado is 19-9-7 (.643). The Wild took four of five games between these teams last season, including the first three via a shutout (5-0 W in season opener vs. COL). These clubs will meet five times in 2015-16, including a home-and-home series at the beginning of December.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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