Puckline Press

The Flyers finally got a goaltender to keep them in a game and then forgot the part where you shoot the puck. Philadelphia managed 14 shots all night, Tampa Bay put up 36, and the Lightning won 4-1. Brayden Point opened it late in the first from John Carlson and Nikita Kucherov, and Pontus Holmberg made it 2-0 just 17 seconds into the second. Tyson Foerster got one back, then Ilya Mikheyev restored the cushion with three minutes left and Brandon Hagel, who fired eight shots, hit the empty net with seven seconds to go. Kucherov had two assists, Holmberg and Mikheyev a goal and an assist each. Dan Vladar made 32 saves on 35 and deserved a better team in front of him. Andrei Vasilevskiy needed 13 saves for his 372nd career win, tying Andy Moog for 20th all-time.

Ottawa walked into TD Garden and acted like it held the lease. Tim Stützle scored shorthanded at 7:39 of the first and again 1:43 later, set up Drake Batherson 66 seconds into the second, and finished with three points and career goal number 150, the fourth German-born player to get there. Michael Amadio made it 4-0 at 5:19 of the second. Linus Ullmark stopped all 10 shots he saw and came out after two periods following a crease collision with JJ Peterka; Samuel Ersson stopped 8 of 9 in relief, and the one was James Hagens early in the third. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves on 24. The final seconds brought misconducts for Nikita Zadorov, Tanner Jeannot and Nick Cousins, the most physical Boston got all night. The Senators are 2-0. The Bruins have lost two straight, and their power play (0-for-4) is still looking for the arena.

Two goalies making their season debuts traded saves for 40 minutes, and then the third period turned into a pinball machine. Ben Kindel gave Pittsburgh the lead at 9:27 of the second from Declan Carlile and Erik Karlsson. Alex Iafallo tied it 4:43 into the third, and Adam Lowry put Winnipeg ahead at 7:08 with Iafallo and Dylan DeMelo on the helpers. Carlile answered at 8:53 to make it 2-2, and the Penguins enjoyed that tie for exactly nine seconds before Cole Perfetti scored the winner from Josh Morrissey. Clay Stevenson made 30 saves on 32 in his Jets debut; Sergei Murashov stopped 31 of 34. Sidney Crosby had five shots and no points, Kyle Connor six shots and no points. The Jets are 2-0-1. Pittsburgh's lead lasted a period, its tie lasted nine seconds, and its defensive coverage on the winner lasted even less.

Dallas came in 0-2 and needed a soft landing. San Jose, without Macklin Celebrini after he was scratched late, provided the pillow. Miro Heiskanen opened it at 18:51 of the first from Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn, and the second period settled it: Joel Kiviranta at 3:17, Benn at 6:19, Jason Robertson at 16:30. Mikko Rantanen added the fifth midway through the third. Hintz had two assists, Benn and Robertson a goal and an assist each. Jake Oettinger needed only 13 saves for the shutout, the kind of night where the hardest part of the job is staying awake. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 21 of 26 and spent most of it on an island. The Stars outshot the Sharks 26-13 and got their first win. Thirteen shots in 60 minutes: the Sharks have been rebuilding for years and still haven't installed a forecheck.

Detroit kept taking penalties and Winnipeg kept saying thank you. Cole Perfetti scored on the power play at 13:04 of the first, Kyle Connor did it again 92 seconds later, and Connor's second, 5:41 into the second, made it 3-0. Three power-play goals, all of them with Perfetti and Josh Morrissey's fingerprints on them: Connor finished with two goals and an assist, Perfetti a goal and two helpers, Morrissey two assists and seven shots. Viktor Arvidsson got one back on a Wings power play late in the second and Emmitt Finnie made it 3-2 early in the third, and then Stuart Skinner closed the door: 33 saves on 35. John Gibson stopped 24 of 27. Tyrel Bauer and Keegan Kolesar fought in the first, the only part of the afternoon Detroit won on points. The Jets are 1-0-1. The Red Wings are 0-2, the fans are chanting at ownership again, and "Hockeytown" is starting to read like false advertising.

Vincent Trocheck came back to the Garden and left with two shots, no points and a loss. Vladislav Gavrikov opened it late in the first from Adam Fox, Nick Schmaltz tied it on a Utah power play in the second (his fourth already), and then the Rangers took the third. Gabe Perreault scored 3:15 in from Alexis Lafrenière and Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller made it 3-1 from Gavrikov, who finished with a goal and an assist. Andrew Peeke cut it to 3-2 with five minutes left, and Eeli Tolvanen hit the empty net, with Igor Shesterkin picking up the assist: one game after scoring a goal, the man is now a playmaker too. He stopped 28 of 30 between points. Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves on 21. Will Cuylle and Jack McBain fought early in the third. The Rangers have won three straight. Utah is 2-1, and mammoths have a long history of things going badly once the ice shows up.

Brad Marchand came off IR weeks ahead of schedule, tied the game with the goalie pulled, and Florida still lost. Cutter Gauthier scored on the power play late in the first, Carter Verhaeghe answered 51 seconds later, and Gauthier struck on another power play 47 seconds into the second. The Ducks held 2-1 until 18:10 of the third, when Marchand, from Lars Eller, tied it 6-on-5 in his season debut. Then Florida went to the box in overtime, and Mikael Granlund won it on the power play at 4:14, from Leo Carlsson and Gauthier. Gauthier finished with two goals and an assist; Carlsson had three assists, which helps explain the offer sheet. Lukas Dostal stopped 29 of 31, Jacob Markstrom 18 of 21. Anaheim is 2-0. Florida is 1-0-2 with three straight overtime games, and three Ducks power-play goals say the two-time champs think the penalty box is a spa.

Seattle's home opener was over before the popcorn got cold. Berkly Catton scored unassisted 2:22 in, Mackie Samoskevich made it 2-0 at 4:40, and Bobby McMann made it 3-0 at 7:40. Shane Wright added one in the second from Catton, and Samoskevich scored again with 26 seconds left in the period, a fine first night on his new line. Morgan Frost broke the shutout on a third-period power play, and Jordan Eberle restored the five-goal lead 39 seconds later, just to be rude about it. Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson had two assists each, and Catton finished with a goal and an assist. Joey Daccord stopped 32 of 33; Dustin Wolf stopped 21 of 27 and gave up six to Seattle for the second time in four days. Calgary is 0-3 and minus-13, and has lost five straight to Seattle by a combined 25-6. The Flames aren't a rival anymore; they're the Kraken's favorite home-opener party favor.

Vancouver scored first, and Vegas spent the rest of the night reminding the Canucks who owns this matchup. Paul Cotter put Vancouver up on the power play late in the first, his fourth already. Then the Golden Knights took the second: Mitch Marner tied it 9:01 in, Victor Olofsson scored on the power play from Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, Jonathan Lekkerimäki tied it 2-2 at 17:54, and 34 seconds later Marc Gatcomb, from Braeden Bowman and Nic Dowd, put Vegas back ahead for good. Nobody scored in the third. Adin Hill got the start and stopped 18 of 20, mostly because Vancouver managed only 20 shots. Kevin Lankinen made 25 saves on 28. Vegas is 2-1. The Canucks are 2-2 on the second night of a back-to-back, and losing to the Golden Knights is still the one tradition in Vancouver nobody had to rebuild.

Chicago did the hard part. Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi had the Hawks up 2-0 in the first, Oliver Moore put them back ahead 3-2 late in the second, and Anton Frondell set up two of the three. Then the third period happened, as it tends to in Chicago. Rasmus Dahlin tied it 6:10 in and Jiri Kulich buried the winner at 13:20, with Tage Thompson (goal, assist) and Jack Quinn also scoring for Buffalo. The Hawks managed 15 shots all night, so Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 12 and mostly enjoyed the view; Spencer Knight made 24 saves on 28 and deserved better company. Buffalo native Patrick Kane went home and left with zero points and a minor. Chicago is 0-3 and minus-10: the rebuild is still under construction, and the third period is a load-bearing wall made of cardboard.

Ottawa opened its season by beating Toronto in Toronto, which remains the Senators' favorite way to spend a Saturday. Thomas Chabot scored late in the first, Auston Matthews answered 33 seconds into the second, and Kirill Marchenko gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead on the power play. Toronto held it for five and a half minutes. Michael Amadio tied it from Tim Stützle and Chabot, and Stephen Halliday won it 9:46 into the third off feeds from Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux. Shots finished 29 apiece; Linus Ullmark stopped 27, Sergei Bobrovsky 26, and the difference was who blinked in the third. The Leafs blinked. Toronto is 1-2 with a new coach and a new goalie, and the same old feeling of watching a lead walk out the door with the Senators holding it open.

Tampa Bay's 11-forward, seven-defenseman experiment paid off in every way it could. Charle-Edouard D'Astous scored 2:26 in, Conor Geekie made it 2-0 late in the first (Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel set up both), and the extra defenseman, Emil Lilleberg, found time to fight Vincent Desharnais in the second. Justin Sourdif got Washington on the board 7:04 into the second, and that was the whole Capitals offense: Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21. Charlie Lindgren was sharp at the other end (27 of 29) and it didn't matter. Guentzel finished it with an empty-netter for a goal and two assists, and the Lightning have their first win. Washington spent the summer buying forwards and came home with 21 shots: all that shopping, nothing in the bag.

Shayne Gostisbehere came back to Philadelphia and scored a big power-play goal, just like old times, only for the other team. Sebastian Aho scored 10 seconds into the game, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov turned it into a 2-1 Flyers lead, and Aho tied it on the power play 4:59 into the third. Then Gostisbehere ended it on another power play at 2:51 of overtime, from Jackson Blake and Aho. Joseph Woll was the only reason it got that far: 37 saves on 40 as Carolina outshot Philly 40-18. Pyotr Kochetkov needed just 16 saves. The Flyers are 0-1-2, the hockey version of showing up to every party and leaving before the cake: three games, two points, minus-9, and an old friend delivering the bad news in their own building.

Pittsburgh built a 5-1 lead by the middle of the second period, then spent the next 25 minutes handing it back like an overdue library book. Evgeni Malkin (goal, two assists), Declan Carlile, Samuel Girard, Tommy Novak and Ben Kindel did the building. Nick Suzuki started the demolition late in the second, Cole Caufield scored his second of the night early in the third, and with Jakub Dobes pulled Montreal scored twice in 24 seconds: Chris Kreider at 18:52 and Ivan Demidov at 19:16. Suzuki finished with a goal and three assists, Lane Hutson with three helpers. Then Novak, from Malkin and Kris Letang, won it 1:33 into overtime for his second of the night. Both goalies stopped exactly 80 percent. The Penguins are 2-0. Montreal got a point and a lesson: comebacks are fun, but spotting a team four goals is how you end up with a Cup drought old enough to have a mortgage.

Utah walked into Columbus and won it on special teams. Mikhail Sergachev opened the scoring on the power play, Nick Schmaltz made it 2-0 before the first intermission, and after Kent Johnson (from Matthew Knies) cut it to 2-1 early in the second, the Utah power play struck twice more in the third: Dylan Guenther, then Schmaltz again. Three power-play goals, two goals for Schmaltz (three on the season) and a goal and two assists for Guenther (three goals in two games). Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley had two assists apiece. Sebastian Cossa stopped 17 of 18, because 18 was all Columbus could find; Jet Greaves made 27 saves on 31. Utah is 2-0 and plus-9 and heads to Madison Square Garden tonight. The Blue Jackets kept handing Utah power plays and shot like a team that left its sticks on the bus.

Edmonton's two best players waited until the last three minutes and then clocked in. Owen Michaels scored 2:51 into the game for his second of the season, Bobby McMann tied it on a Seattle power play in the second, and it sat at 1-1 until Leon Draisaitl, from Connor McDavid, scored with 2:27 left. McDavid added the empty-netter 82 seconds later, because of course he did. Devon Levi stopped 19 of 20; Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 of 24 and kept Seattle alive for 57 minutes. Ryan Lindgren and Trent Frederic dropped the gloves in the first period, the most physical thing the Kraken attack did all night. Seattle is 1-1 and comes home to face Calgary tonight with 20 shots of evidence that its offense is still exploring the ocean floor.

Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves, and New Jersey spent the night finding out what a brick wall feels like. The Devils outshot the Islanders 37-32 and lost 6-0, which takes real talent. Simon Holmstrom and Brayden Schenn scored 88 seconds apart early in the second, Bo Horvat added a power-play goal, and the third turned into a group project: Victor Eklund, Ondrej Palat and Casey Cizikas, the last one shorthanded with 1:19 left. Six goals, six different scorers. Matthew Schaefer had two assists and Eklund a goal and an assist. Nico Daws stopped 26 of 32 and got no help from anybody. The Islanders even up at 1-1. The Devils are minus-5 two games in, and their offense got lost somewhere on the Long Island Expressway and still hasn't called home.

Miro Heiskanen scored 47 seconds in, and Dallas apparently decided that was enough work for the second half of a back-to-back. Nashville answered with two power-play goals in the first period: Steven Stamkos, from Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi, and Nils Hoglander, his first as a Predator, from Jack Ahcan and Alexander Kerfoot. Then nobody scored for the last 44 minutes. Juuse Saros stopped 29 of 30; Casey DeSmith made 24 saves on 26 and was fine. Waiver pickup William Trudeau played his first NHL game, and Ahcan picked up a point in his Predators debut. The Stars are 0-2 and minus-5, and a team that piled up 112 points last season is now giving away power-play goals like free samples at the grocery store.

Tanner Jeannot scored 1:53 in for Boston, and the Bruins spent the next 58 minutes learning why you don't hand Minnesota power plays. Kirill Kaprizov tied it on the power play in the second, Quinn Hughes put the Wild ahead on another one six minutes later, Jared Spurgeon made it 3-1 early in the third, and Kaprizov closed it with an unassisted empty-netter. That's three goals in two games for Kaprizov; Hughes added an assist to his goal. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 27, and the Wild are 2-0. Michael DiPietro made 26 saves on 29 for Boston. The Bruins fall to 2-1, which is fine, but their offense after the first two minutes was a Boston traffic jam: plenty of horn, no movement.

Colorado scored the first six goals, and St. Louis spent the night looking for the exit. Cale Makar opened it 4:09 in, Martin Necas added another in the first, and the second period was a highlight reel: Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen (unassisted, already his third), Nicolas Roy, and Necas again, the last two 23 seconds apart late in the period. Necas finished with two goals and an assist; Nathan MacKinnon had three assists without scoring, which is how he relaxes. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 of 26 and lost the shutout to Dalibor Dvorsky early in the third. Jordan Binnington faced 36 shots and wore six of them. Colorado is 2-0 and plus-9. The Blues brought their new, younger look to Denver and found out the altitude isn't the only thing there that leaves you gasping.

For 40 minutes Calgary had a lead, a fight and a plan. Luke Schenn and Adam Klapka went at it 2:55 in, Matt Coronato scored on the power play late in the first, and Devin Cooley carried a 1-0 lead into the third. Then Vancouver scored four times in the final 20. Liam Ohgren tied it 88 seconds in, Elias Pettersson put the Canucks ahead from Ohgren and Tom Willander, Drew O'Connor added one with 3:27 left, and Aatu Räty hit the empty net. Linus Karlsson and Willander had two assists each. Leevi Meriläinen stopped 23 of 24; Cooley made 22 saves on 25. The Flames are 0-2 and minus-8 and play in Seattle tonight on the back end of a back-to-back, after blowing a third-period lead to the team that finished last in the league a year ago. Flames fans will be hearing that sentence in their sleep.

San Jose and Los Angeles played 63 minutes of hockey that needed a scorekeeper on overtime pay. Adrian Kempe opened it on the power play, then the Sharks scored three straight: Tyler Toffoli on a power play, Kiefer Sherwood unassisted, and Nolan Allan. Quinton Byfield answered on the power play with two seconds left in the second, Igor Chernyshov made it 4-2, and the Kings tied it with goals from Erik Haula and Artemi Panarin, the second at the 15-minute mark of the third. Then Macklin Celebrini found Chernyshov 3:18 into overtime for his second of the night. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 31 of 35, Anton Forsberg 20 of 25. San Jose is 2-0. The Kings outshot the Sharks 35-25 and still lost, a very Kings way to spend a Saturday: all the puck, none of the points, one point in two games.

Detroit's home opener had everything a long-suffering fan base could want: booing their own former captain before puck drop, then 60 minutes of not scoring. Dylan Garand, the Rangers' fill-in on the second night of a back-to-back, stopped all 22 shots for the shutout, which is what happens when the other team's shots arrive gift-wrapped. Sean Durzi scored on the power play 5:12 in and later fought Marco Kasper, a full night's work before the third period. Eeli Tolvanen hit the empty net with 1:16 left. John Gibson made 19 saves on 20 and got nothing for it but a sympathetic slap on the pads. New York is 2-1 and has won two straight. Detroit is 0-1, has no goals, no captain and a 10-season playoff drought, and the season is one game old.

The Capitals walked into the champs' building and had it 3-0 before the first intermission, the hockey version of showing up to a party and eating the cake. Alex Tuch scored twice in his Washington debut, and rookie defenseman Cole Hutson scored in his NHL debut, which beats the usual first-game souvenir of a puck and a nervous smile. Ovechkin got an assist on the opening goal, Jakob Chychrun had a power-play goal and an assist, and Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois had two helpers each. Sebastian Aho finally got Carolina a power-play goal in the second, and Ryan Leonard answered eight seconds later, which is just rude. Logan Thompson made 31 saves on 33; Brandon Bussi let in five on 27. The Hurricanes outshot Washington and lost by three: 0-1-1, one goal in two home games, and the banner is already the best thing they've put up this season.

Winnipeg's home opener was a lovely evening right up until the last 1:38. The Jets led 3-2 after Mario Ferraro scored with eight seconds left in the second, Kyle Connor had a power-play goal, an assist and nine shots, and the Canada Life Centre was ready to go home happy. Then Boston pulled Jeremy Swayman, and Elias Lindholm tied it 6-on-5 at 18:22 of the third. JJ Peterka, two games into his Bruins career, won it 3:21 into overtime for his second goal. David Pastrnak and Nikita Zadorov set up two goals each, Hampus Lindholm and James Hagens also scored, and Mark Kastelic and Tyrel Bauer dropped the gloves early. Swayman stopped 30 of 33, Stuart Skinner 26 of 30. Boston is 2-0. Winnipeg got a point for its trouble, and a reminder that its former Vezina winner is still suspended for skipping camp and still waiting on a trade. Nothing says 'new season' like the old goalie problem.

Dallas spent the summer near the top of everybody's rankings and opened its season by getting shut out at home. Mason McTavish, playing his first game as a Blue, scored 94 seconds in, and the Stars spent the next 58 minutes looking for a reply. Dalibor Dvorsky made it 2-0 in the second, then St. Louis hit the empty net twice in 15 seconds, Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter, with Joel Hofer picking up an assist on the second one. Hofer stopped all 25 shots for the shutout and outscored the entire Dallas roster in points. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves on 22 and deserved a better band in front of him. Jake Neighbours and Arttu Hyry fought in the second, the closest Dallas came to winning a battle all night. A 112-point team with Jason Robertson locked up, and the first goal of their season will have to wait for Nashville.

Anaheim's season opener in Vegas went great for about 45 minutes and then got very Vegas. Beckett Sennecke scored with eight seconds left in the first, Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott scored 55 seconds apart early in the second, and Leo Carlsson, the guy the Ducks paid to keep away from Philadelphia, made it 4-0 at 7:03. The Golden Knights trailed by four on home ice to a team that just lost half its summer roster, and the Strip briefly considered a dinner show. Then Shea Theodore, Tomas Hertl on the power play and Braeden Bowman with 2:50 left made it 4-3, and Jack Eichel had two assists in the rally. Lukas Dostal held on with 27 saves on 30. Carter Hart let in four on 20. Vegas played the last 20 minutes like Cup finalists and the first 40 like the house was comping the other team.

The Devils threw 44 shots at Joseph Woll, the hockey version of trying every key on the ring. Woll stopped 41 and dragged Philly to overtime, where Jack Hughes ended it at 3:23, because of course he did. The Flyers led twice: once on a Rasmus Ristolainen goal with their own goalie on the bench (bold), once on Travis Sanheim's goal early in the third. Both leads lasted about as long as a Philly sports-radio caller's patience. Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes did the tying, Bratt set up the winner, and Jake Allen needed only 23 saves. Tocchet shortened his bench so much that Porter Martone watched most of the third from the best seat in the house. One point and a minus-8 goal difference after two games: the Flyers are rebuilding, and so far the foundation is Joseph Woll and a lot of prayer.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 of 25 and then, apparently tired of waiting on his forwards, scored into the empty net himself. A goalie goal in the home opener: the Garden hasn't been this giddy since the last time somebody promised a parade. Zibanejad scored on the power play and set up another, Dorofeyev had two points, and Adam Fox handed out two assists like party favors. Tolvanen and Gabe Perreault joined in. Kucherov got one back in the second and then spent the night watching. Andrei Vasilevskiy let in four on 24 shots, not the opening act Tampa sold tickets for. Final tally: the entire Lightning roster scored one goal, exactly as many as the guy in the Rangers' crease, and he was busy making 24 saves at the time.

Matthew Knies' first game in a Blue Jackets sweater: two goals, an assist and, presumably, a thank-you card in the mail to Columbus. Charlie Coyle had three assists, Werenski two, and Columbus scored six on 23 shots, efficiency Buffalo can only read about. The Sabres hung around, 4-3 after two thanks to Quinn and Helenius, then remembered who they were. Luukkonen stopped 17 of 22, a save percentage best described as 'hospitable'. Mathieu Olivier fought Zach Metsa and then scored into the empty net, a full shift's work in one night. Owen Power and Noah Ostlund had two assists each, nice consolation prizes. Buffalo opened the season with 'this is the year' energy and closed the first night with 'here we go again.'