NFL
By: Damon Horton
The wait is finally over, folks; the NHL season is here. Meaningful hockey is back.
As we all iced our beers, dusted off our sweaters, and prepared for another season of NHL hockey, we were treated to an opening puck drop between the previous 2 Stanley Cup Champions in Raleigh yesterday afternoon. While it wasn’t a barn burner by any stretch, it was a proper start to what will be the longest season we have seen since 1993-1994.
Let’s go back in time to 1993: Wayne Gretzky led the LA Kings to the Stanley Cup against the Guy Carbonneau and Patrick Roy Montreal Canadiens. If nobody has told you, this was the last time a Canadian team lifted the Stanley Cup. Every season since, the Cup has stayed in the United States. Could things change this year? A hungry Montreal Canadiens could very well be a dark horse to win it all and dial the clock back.
I am getting ahead of myself here. Let me digress a bit. I am super excited for the season to finally start. The league landscape has changed quite a bit since last season. With the salary cap increase, we have seen players getting massive contracts that we have never seen before. The best goalie in the league is holding out for a trade, and the Maple Leafs once again have hope for the future. The San Jose Sharks could see themselves firmly in the playoff picture at season’s end, and the Tkachuk brothers find themselves playing the heels of the NHL on the Florida Superteam.
Before I get too deep into predictions and clickbait, let’s look at who impressed me last night as well as some of the storylines I have seen bouncing around on social media.
3 Stars Of Opening Night
1st Star: Evan Bouchard
The Oilers found themselves on the losing end of an overtime affair in spite of an incredible Hat Trick effort from the best offensive D-man in the league. Evan Bouchard was the highest-rated skater in the entire NHL last night with a Game Score of 7.22. (Via HockeyStatCards.com) A promising start for the Oilers, who look to be somewhat of a glass cannon to begin the season.
2nd Star: Jeremy Swayman
There were a pair of shutouts last night, but Swayman’s against the New York Rangers was undoubtedly the most impressive by virtue of shot volume alone. Jeremy Swayman stopped all 24 shots that he faced, besting the guy across the ice from him. We knew we were in for a goalie showdown when we saw Igor and Jeremy on the card, and we sure got one. The first two periods were 0-0 until Minten and new Bostonian JJ Peterka broke the Rangers. Hats off to Swayman, who looks to be in Vezina-form early on.
3rd Star: Paul Maurice
I know it is probably really dumb and stupid to name the coach of a superteam as the 3rd Star of the day, but limiting a team that just went on one of the most dominant runs in Stanley Cup Playoff history to 15 shots, in their home barn, after hanging their banner is just filthy. The Carolina Hurricanes looked tired and flat-footed for the majority of the game. Maurice knows how to grind teams down and win close games. Consult the graph below. 
What you are seeing here is a line chart that explores xGF and xGA. Nearly every player wearing a Panthers sweater was assigned a positive value (above the line), while nearly every Hurricanes player is in the negative (below the line). This is just insane game planning by Florida, even if you’re just looking at the eye test. Carolina was able to apply bursts of pressure at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd periods, but Florida was able to sustain pressure throughout the entire game, something they have always been incredibly good at. 83 games are remaining, but if this is the iteration we are getting of this team, the entire league needs to start planning around it. This is last year’s Golden Knights on steroids.
Storylines From Day 1
Obviously, the main ticket of the day was the puck drop between Carolina and Florida, but what else happened yesterday that has people buzzing?
Bobrovsky Steals Gavin McKenna’s Spotlight
New Leafs Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is an elite netminder with Stanley Cup pedigree and a Hall of Fame resume. He is also very superstitious. Goalies often are the first players to hit the ice before a game, a ritual that is not unique to Bob or Toronto, but is something you see from squirt hockey all the way up the ladder. Maple Leafs 1st Overall Pick Gavin McKenna has been widely regarded as the next great player to hit the NHL, and rightfully so; many people were excited to see him take his Rookie Warm-up Lap as his “welcome to the show” moment.
Bob straight up does not care about that. See for yourself.
In my opinion, goalies are weird, superstitious, and often misunderstood creatures. People certainly got their jimmies rustled by this one, but I have a good feeling that in 48 hours, this will fade into obscurity and become a humorous footnote in what will probably be a great career for the kid.
The Oilers’ Goaltending Woes Will Go On
It is quite often said that the Oilers will have to score 6 goals every game in order to win, and last night it was literally the case. Edmonton is one of the most offensively gifted teams we have ever seen, but they will need so much more from their goaltenders this year. While Jarry will bear the brunt of the blame, it’s worth noting that most of the goals he allowed were not softies. You still want your starting goalie to make at least a couple of those saves. Knowing how Babcock behaves as a hockey coach, one cannot help but feel bad for that Oilers locker room after that game. I’m hearing that he is beating Tristan Jarry with hammers as I type this.
Canadiens Are Trying To Turn Back The Clock
As mentioned before, Montreal is the last Canadian team to win the Cup, and they seem the most primed at the start of the season to win it again. Last night, Dobes stood tall, only allowing a pair of goals and saving the other 26 shots. Montreal is young, hungry, and incredibly talented, ironically employing arguably the best American goal-scorer in the NHL. The Atlantic is absolutely stacked, but keep an eye out for Montreal to make a push for 1st or 2nd amidst a flood of high-end teams like Tampa, Buffalo, and Florida.
