NHL Season Opener Results
The NHL season kicked off with a bang on Friday night, featuring several exciting matchups and impressive performances.
Lightning Strike Early and Often
In Raleigh, the Tampa Bay Lightning wasted no time asserting their dominance, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Nikita Kucherov stole the show with a remarkable third-period hat trick, including a power-play goal that put the Lightning ahead for good. Brayden Point also contributed with a power-play goal in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall in net, making 20 saves to secure the victory for Tampa Bay.
While Jordan Staal managed to score for the Hurricanes in the first period, they were unable to penetrate Vasilevskiy’s defense again. Frederick Andersen made 19 saves for Carolina in a losing effort.
Scheifele Leads Jets to Overtime Victory
In Winnipeg, Mark Scheifele emerged as the hero, scoring both the tying goal late in regulation and the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Jets to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Connor Hellebuyck was a brick wall in net, stopping 25 shots to help Winnipeg improve to 2-0 on the season. Ryan Donato scored for Chicago, while Arvid Soderblom made 34 saves.
Golden Knights Hold Off Blues
In Las Vegas, the Golden Knights edged out the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in a thrilling contest. Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Shea Theodore, and Nicolas Roy all found the back of the net for Vegas. Mark Stone added two assists. Adin Hill made 19 saves to secure the win. Pavel Buchnevich led the Blues with two goals and an assist, while Robert Thomas also scored. Jordan Kyrou continued his impressive start to the season with two assists, bringing his total to six points in three games. Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for St. Louis.
Flyers Edge Canucks in Shootout
In Vancouver, the Philadelphia Flyers opened their season with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Canucks. Tyson Forester and Cam York scored in regulation for Philadelphia, while Samuel Ersson made 24 saves. Teddy Blueger and Nils Hoglander scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in his debut. The Canucks suffered their second consecutive loss in extra time after holding a lead heading into the third period.